


Interruptions

by WatermelonTuesdays



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Comfort/Angst, Declarations Of Love, Eventual Smut, First Time, First Time Blow Jobs, Flying Sex, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gay Shiro (Voltron), Grinding, Keith (Voltron) is a Good Boyfriend, Keith's wolf is a good boy, M/M, Post-Season/Series 06, Rimming, Shiro (Voltron) is a Mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-22 11:40:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15581175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WatermelonTuesdays/pseuds/WatermelonTuesdays
Summary: After months in the astral plain, Shiro decides to finally tell Keith how he feels, but everyone keeps getting in the way. And now Shiro and Keith have to try to come to grips with everything they've been through, both together and apart._________________Shiro put his head in his hand. He had been alive for three days now. And he had made up his mind to have a long talk with Keith. But still his mind was in turmoil. He was full of doubts, insecurities, nameless guilt for the harm caused by this body in his absence.Keith and Krolia were quiet. Their silence only amplified Shiro’s anxiety, though he did his best to maintain his stoic demeanour.He just needed an hour, alone, with Keith, and then everything would be ok. Not just because he had made up his mind to announce his feelings, but because he knew that just Keith’s presence would help steady him. He had to talk about what had happened to him, and the only person he could imagine speaking to about his death and afterlife was Keith. The one person who found him in the astral plain.





	1. Interrupted

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> So, I wrote this kind of as a way to deal with the emotions of season 6. It's actually already completed. There's going to be 5 chapters and a bonus, and I'm going to post a new chapter every day until Season 7 launches, and then the bonus will come August 10!!!
> 
> I just wanted to post something in celebration of the upcoming season.
> 
> I started writing this before SDCC and all those beautiful spoilers. I intentionally left Adam out of this, because I'm not ready to write about him until we actually get to see more of his personality and all that went down. I'm withholding judgement on him until I see all of season 7. 
> 
> Also, Romelle is not in this, I'm sorry. She added nothing, and was therefore left out.

This was it, the night he finally crossed the line.

He had thought about it so many times over the years, but now, finally, was the time. 

There were so many reasons not to. Their history together, the effect it would have on the team, his own personal fears. 

What if it ended badly? What if it broke them before it even started?

But no, none of that mattered anymore. Those months, locked away in the astral plain, has shown him that. There was no time to lose, life was so short and so precious. And he would not waste another moment of it. 

“Are you feeling ok, Shiro?” Keith’s voice was worried. He had been sitting in the corner too long, and too quiet. 

Shiro wanted to answer honestly, but he saw Krolia turn to him from her position standing over Keith’s shoulder, so he said “I’m fine. Just… a lot on my mind, I guess.” 

Keith let the black lion control their navigation and turned in his seat to look at Shiro. “Is it weird? Being back in the black lion? You could ride with Lance, or one of the others.”

Shiro smiled. It was a real smile, though it was bittersweet. 

“Thanks, but I’m fine. The black lion and I have been through a lot together, it would be strange to fly in any of the others.” 

“Did you want to fly him?”

“I’m good here. Besides, I can’t really run all the controls like this.” Shiro raised what was left of his robotic right arm then let it drop down.

Keith flinched at the movement. “Oh… right.” He turned back to the console with downcast eyes.

“Keith…” Shiro sighed. He didn’t know if Keith’s reaction was misplaced guilt for what had happened to Shiro, or if it was fear from what his clone had done.

Krolia shifted to put a hand on Keith’s shoulder and it stopped Shiro’s next words in his mouth. 

Shiro was thrilled that Keith had been able to meet his mother and bond with her. It was a happiness that Shiro had often worried would never come, but Shiro felt awkward in her presence. For so long he had been that guiding presence in Keith’s life, and though he did not resent her for taking over a duty that was rightfully hers, Shiro’s instincts were still tuned to step in at times like this and he didn’t know what to do with himself.

He felt almost like an imposter who had come in and taken her place in Keith’s life. 

He was a shade compared to her, an ill-fit mentor; his devotion to Keith had been far from parental for some time now. 

More than anything, Shiro felt like the man who had stolen her son. Although it was far from the truth, it still made it hard for him to look her in the eye. 

Shiro put his head in his hand. He had been alive for three days now. And he had made up his mind to have a long talk with Keith. But still his mind was in turmoil. He was full of doubts, insecurities, nameless guilt for the harm caused by this body in his absence. 

Keith and Krolia were quiet. Their silence only amplified Shiro’s anxiety, though he did his best to maintain his stoic demeanour. 

He just needed an hour, alone, with Keith, and then everything would be ok. Not just because he had made up his mind to announce his feelings, but because he knew that just Keith’s presence would help steady him. He had to talk about what had happened to him, and the only person he could imagine speaking to about his death and afterlife was Keith. The one person who found him in the astral plain. 

Shiro sighed and stood.

He could feel Keith and Krolia watching his every move through the corners of their eyes. He didn’t want to worry them, but he felt suddenly cramped. 

Outside of the cockpit was a fair-sized storage room, with a fold-down cot, a sink, and a small cupboard in one corner as a makeshift living space for longer expeditions. The room was piled high with boxes and stacks of materials they had squirreled away from the castle before they had detonated it inside the rifts. 

Shiro moved carefully between the boxes and sat down in a sheltered nook. He pulled his knees to his chest and put his head back in his hand.

He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. 

He could feel the black lion’s presence in his mind, checking in on him. He smiled lightly.

“I’ll be fine,” he said to the lion, and then again to himself, “I’ll be fine.”

Soon they would be in the Boslin quadrant, where there was a series of strong ally planets where they would be able to get supplies and get a good night’s rest in a real bed. 

There was not enough space in the lions for any of the paladins to lower their cots from the walls, and they were all feeling the strain of the journey these last few days. 

Keith was still bruised and sore from his fight with the clone, not that he would admit to such a thing, but Shiro could tell by the way he moved. There was a stiffness in his movements that was not common, and he moved his left side gingerly, like he had bruised a few ribs on that side. 

The thought of it hurt. It had been these hands – this hand – that had caused the damage. Shiro may not have been in control of the body, but his clone had had his memories, had known everything about Keith, and still he was able to wreck such damage. It turned Shiro’s stomach to think that this body had tried to kill one of his few most precious things in the galaxy.

The painful truth of the clone’s memories rang through his mind. The cruel things he had said, the damage he had wrecked upon them all. 

‘No,’ Shiro told himself, ‘Don’t dwell on a past you can’t change.’

His thoughts continued to swirl darkly through his head despite his best efforts. Shiro closed his eyes and grit his teeth and did his best to ride them out, knowing that there would be a relief.

“Shiro?” Keith’s voice sounded far away, but that was only because of the maze of boxes between them. 

“Over here,” Shiro said, his voice deceptively calm.

Keith worked his way slowly through the boxes. When he found Shiro he stopped and surveyed him for a long time. 

Shiro looked back. He was not accustomed to this taller, older Keith. 

They had been apart for so long, despite the relatively short length of their separation. A few months for Shiro, over two years for Keith. 

Keith took a seat on the floor beside Shiro, leaving a few inches of space between them. 

Shiro longed to close the distance, but settled for leaning fractionally closer. Two years was a long time, it was no wonder that Keith would feel some distance between them. 

“I’m still not used to this,” Keith said, and for a moment Shiro thought he had read his mind. But then he realized Keith was talking about his white hair.

“And I’m not used to you being so tall.”

“Heh, ya, well…” Keith shrugged. 

The air between them was pregnant with unsaid words, but neither could decipher what the other was thinking, or how they were feeling, and so they both said nothing. 

“Are we getting close?” Shiro asked after a while. 

“Yes. We should be there in another 30 dobashes.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

The silence returned. It seemed to stretch between them, lengthening the chasm. 

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Keith said at last. 

“Are you?”

Keith laughed at that, and Shiro felt his spirits lighten. “I guess not. So much happened in a short time, I’m still not sure what I think.”

“I’m just so glad to be back. I didn’t think this would even be possible, I thought it would be me and the black lion for eternity.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Keith could only say that because he knew it hadn’t happened. He did not think he’d feel that way if Shiro really had been lost to them forever.

“It would be lonely, though.” Shiro said softly. “Keith I…” he couldn’t say it now, it wasn’t the right time. “I need to talk to you. Later.”

Keith nodded like he understood. 

Shiro hoped he did.

Their silence was more companionable this time, although it was short-lived.

“I should get back.” Keith put a hand to Shiro’s knee as he hoisted himself up. He made a grunting noise as he stood, and gently rubbed his side. “I’ll let you know when we’re close.”

“Thanks.”

Keith disappeared quickly between the boxes, leaving Shiro to his solitude once more. 

But Shiro felt lighter now. Although they hadn’t said much, what they did say had gone a long way. 

When had Keith become his support system instead of the other way around?

In the academy, Keith couldn’t tie his boots right without Shiro’s supervision. Well, not that he couldn’t, but he wouldn’t. But ever since he had left Earth it seemed as though every time he turned around Keith was saving him. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Arguing with Keith had kept his leadership strong, and talking to Keith had made this whole crazy space adventure seem normal. 

He would not have made it this far without Keith. Even in the astral plane, Shiro lived for the moments when he, the black lion, and Keith would all fly together. 

He had hated to relinquish control of the black lion to his clone, he had not wanted anyone but Keith behind the wheel (metaphorically speaking). He had fought against it as long as he could, until he had no choice. 

And that had given Keith his chance to strike out on his own, find his place amongst the Blade of Marmora, and meet his mother. So much good had come from that action, though at the time all Shiro could see was Keith leaving him to his own imposter, and it had stung like hell.

He had felt like Keith was leaving him behind.

It was probably how Keith had felt back on Earth when Shiro had left for the Kerberos mission.

Shiro sighed again and tried to sort out his thoughts, figure out his plan of attack.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The planet they stopped on was very rainy. There were only dirt roads, which had turned to mud in the downpour.

The buildings were built out of massive blocks of stone, and had a haphazard look that was vaguely threatening.

The people of the planet, the Bosners, were insectoid creatures and they were nearly double the size of any human. But they were friendly and accommodating. 

Coran and Allura were speaking with a representative of the Bosners, informing them of their journey, and getting information about what had been happening to the Galra with Lotor’s sudden disappearance.

Krolia and Keith had gone in search of a place to stay for the night.

Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Kaltenecker were happily stamping around in the mud and roughhousing around the feet of their lions. 

Shiro stood sheltered from the rain at the foot of the black lion, watching the young paladins play.

The cosmic wolf announced Keith’s return, running swiftly past Shiro to inspect the teens’ commotion. Keith’s footsteps squelched in the mud soon after.

“What are they doing?”

“Letting off some steam.” Shiro couldn’t cross his arms, so he did the next most comfortable thing and held his metal shoulder. “We’ve all been cooped up for the last 3 days.”

Keith snorted, “So, what, we should all roll around in the mud?”

Shiro resisted his momentary impulse to say ‘yes’ and throw Keith down in the mud right there. “They’re not doing any harm. Let them have their fun.”

They stood together under the black lion for a time.

It was not lost upon Shiro that this was an opportune moment to speak with Keith. The others were all distracted, and the noise of the rain would drown out most of his words should anyone else start to pay attention.

“Keith…” Shiro turned to Keith hesitantly. He took a deep breath. He could do this. 

“Keith.” Krolia’s voice was astonishingly close. 

Shiro swung around to find Krolia joining them under the shelter of the lion. 

“Would you give us a moment?” she asked in a voice that betrayed none of her intent.

Keith nodded, whistled for his cosmic wolf, which transported to his side in a flash of blue, and headed towards Coran and Allura. 

Shiro didn’t know what to do with himself. He just waited for Krolia to speak. She had to have some reason to want to speak with him alone.

“When I first met the, uh, other you,” she began a bit awkwardly, “I had thanked him for everything you had done for my son. It’s occurred to me now that I gave my thanks to the wrong man.

“You had a large hand in shaping the man that Keith is today. And I wanted to thank you properly.”

“Oh, uh… it’s really nothing.” Shiro blushed and scratched at his shoulder to give his fingers something to do. 

“You can’t know what it means to me, knowing that a good man was looking after my son when I could not.”

Krolia’s usually unreadable expression changed to one of tenderness and gratitude. 

“Getting to know my son has been the greatest gift of my life. He speaks so highly of you and all that you’ve done for him.” She reached out and put her hand over Shiro’s for a moment before dropping it back to her side. “You are family to him, and you are family to me. And when you are up to it, I would love to hear as many stories as you can give me.” Shiro swallowed thickly. His compassion, and his giant heart, won out over his guilt, and Shiro blinked back tears. 

“I didn’t do anything remarkable. Keith is a great man. I’m just lucky to have him in my life.”

Krolia smiled at Shiro’s sincerity. She turned to look at Keith, standing silent beside Coran. They were nearly the same height now. 

“After two years in the Quantum Abyss, I’m sure you have plenty of stories to tell me.” Shiro said conversationally. 

Krolia nodded her acknowledgment of the statement. “We will talk sometime.” She stepped back out into the rain, towards Keith and the others.

Shiro now knew where Keith got his taciturn ways. 

He chuckled to himself at the thought, then followed Krolia into the rain.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The hotel Krolia and Keith found was large, even by Bosner standards, and it had a sort of restaurant, food court attached to it. The tables and chairs were all too large for them to sit at, suited for the Bosners as they were, but Pidge and Hunk were able to find a few slats of stone and spare parts to rig together a long table and makeshift benches for the whole team to sit together. 

Keith and Shiro sat across from each other at one end of the table. 

Keith was focused intently on his food, the first proper meal of god-knows-what in days, and Shiro did his best to do the same.

His nerves stopped him from enjoying the food as much as he could have, and he was too cognizant of Keith’s long legs stretched out towards him under the table. Their knees met with sharp solidity several times, but as best Shiro could tell through his peripheral vision, Keith gave no notice of the brief touches.

He did not dare look at Keith straight on while they ate. The words he was planning were too close to the edge of his tongue, and he feared they might cascade out of their own accord, here in front of everyone. 

And that was not the place to bear his soul. Not to Keith. Beautiful, stoic Keith. 

Then again, they were sitting away from the others at the very edge of the table, and there was a dimness in their corner that hinted as seclusion. 

Shiro cleared his throat, choked briefly on his food, and took a deep draught of water.

“Keith,” his voice was hoarser than he wanted it to be, so he tried again. He could feel Keith’s bright eyes on him, intent. “Keith, -”

“Shiro!” Pidge appeared at Shiro’s side like a ninja. Shiro held back his cry of surprise. Keith did not flinch at Pidge’s approach, but his attention was immediately returned to his  
meal.

“Hi, Pidge.”

“How’s the arm today?” Pidge took the remnants of Shiro’s arm in her hands without waiting for an answer or invitation. She worked the joint and mechanism up and down, side to side. “Does it hurt any worse than before?”

Keith’s steady gaze was on him again, but Shiro didn’t look.

“It’s, ahh… heavier. And it doesn’t move as easily today.”

She rolled what little sleeve Shiro had further up his shoulder and looked at where the harsh Galra metal bit into his arm.

“Have you been scratching at it?”

“Uhh…” Shiro hadn’t noticed if he had, and was about to say no, when Keith said “yes” in a low voice from the other side of the table. “Oh… I, uh, didn’t notice.”

Pidge frowned and moved the metal stub more, practically sticking her nose in Shiro’s armpit in her examination.

“Should we be worried?” Keith’s voice was tense. And just like before, Shiro didn’t know if it was from concern for Shiro, or of it was residual fear of the arm that nearly destroyed Team Voltron. 

“Mmm, I don’t think so.” Pidge was calmly pragmatic as she began to poke at the machinery with her fork. “You cut off all of the main mechanics when you sliced it off, Keith. Everything that was receiving or transmitting a signal is gone. I think it’s losing power without the main components. That’s why it’s getting heavier and harder to move. The machinery itself was compensating for it’s own weight before.”

“What does that mean for me?” Shiro asked. He couldn’t keep his voice from betraying how uncomfortable he was from Pidge’s examination.

“Well, we’ll have to get it off as soon as possible. I had hoped we’d be able to make up a replacement before we took it off, to save you the extra surgery.”

“Surgery? While we’re on the road, and without the castle?” Shiro believed in Pidge’s skills, but still he was skeptical.

“If I can scan it, I can see how much I can take off before surgery. I might be able to take enough off to get us by till Earth.”

“Then, get your scanner,” Shiro encouraged with a soft smile. 

Pidge’s eyes gleamed with excitement and she bounded off, pulling Hunk behind her as they went to raid through their boxes of supplies.

Keith’s eyes were sharp on his skin when Shiro turned back. It caught the breath in Shiro’s lungs, and he had to mentally coach himself to let it out in a slow draw.

“What is it?” His question came out as a whisper, but it roused Keith just the same.

His eyes flashed with pain for a brief moment, “Shi-”

“Got it!” Pidge was back at his side moments later. Clearly, she had already anticipated scanning the wreckage of his arm.

Shiro turned away from Keith with a heaviness in his soul. He had no idea what Keith was going to say, and it hurt him to prolong any meaningful conversation again.

Pidge and Hunk crowded around Shiro’s arm for the better part of the next 2 hours, scanning, discussing, re-scanning, poking the metal with sharp objects, hitting the arm with dull objects, and then scanning some more. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Days were long on this planet, and though it felt late, and everyone was soon ready to crash, the sun was only starting its slow descent into night. 

Shiro wandered the large, open hallways, feeling the humid air dampen his breath as he walked. Officially, he was looking for his room, but realistically, his eyes were scanning the hallways for a tall, lithe figure in dark colours. Technically, his room was at least one floor above.

He found Keith sitting in the wide window ledge of the hallway. His feet hung out in the rain, and his hair shone from cast-off rain drops.

He didn’t look when Shiro approached, but they both knew he saw him. 

Despite the rain, there were clear skies off in the distance, and Keith’s sharp eyes watched the horizon as it grew a mottled yellow-orange colour with the coming sunset. 

Shiro leaned against the other side of the window, his good hand reaching up to rub at the meeting of sinew and metal on his shoulder.

“Can they take it off?” Keith’s voice did not waver.

“They think so. Though Pidge is hoping to stop at a market planet in this system to look for some Galra tools.”

“If I can help…”

He did not need to finish his sentence. Just like Shiro did not need to reply. “Of course.” 

Shiro closed his eyes and began to torturous task of gathering his will. He had already missed so many moments today.

And this was a perfect one.

It was sunset, they were alone. It was damn near romantic, if it weren’t for the damp and the mud that was caked up nearly to their knees.

Shiro opened his mouth,

“Keith!” it was Hunk’s voice, not Shiro’s who called to him.

Shiro strangled the groan in his throat, but a small part of it was let lose, sounding strange and feral in the air.

Hunk bounded to Keith with too much energy, his eyes wide and bright from being over-tired.

“Keith, buddy. Do you have the room key? I want to get in there and get settled. They said it’s only one bed, but judging by the size of the Bosners, I’d say there’s probably plenty-a room for the both of us. I know I don’t want to sleep on the floor if I can help it. Hey, you don’t snore now that you’re an old man, do you?” Hunk chuckled at his own joke and Keith humoured him with a brief flash of smile.

Shiro felt his heart lurch at the sight of the simple smile dancing across Keith’s lips. 

He wasn’t jealous of Hunk – not really. Not generally. But right now, after being interrupted one too many times, Shiro was feeling possessive of Keith’s smiles in a way he had never done before.

“You’re bunking up?” Shiro asked, redirecting his focus.

“Ya, we all are. Lance has got Coran,” Hunk stifled his laugh in his hand.

“I don’t have a bunkmate.” Shiro couldn’t place his tone. Was he sad about that? 

“Well, no,” Hunk said it like it was obvious. Like the reason why was obvious. “I mean, you’ve been through enough…” His eyes flicked up to Shiro’s white hair, and he could feel Keith’s gaze draw across him to the same place, resting on his hair where Hunk had only dared look for a moment.

Shiro sighed. “Right. No matter.” Left out: that was what he felt, that was his tone. Shiro no longer fit with the group, not any more.

Hunk turned to Keith to hide his embarrassment at bringing up Shiro’s hair, and he reached to pull Keith from the ledge. “Come on, I’m exhausted and I don’t want to wake up when you come in.”

“Hunk, wait a second. I need to speak to Keith?”

Like a switch had flipped, Hunk’s over-tired energy drained from him and he fixed Shiro with an exhausted stare. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow? Besides, I think Allura was looking for you a minute ago.”

“Oh, uh… ok…” 

Keith shot Shiro a look that was almost an apology as he allowed Hunk to drag him off towards their room. Shiro watched them disappear around a corner, then sighed and struck out to find Allura. 

Interrupted once again. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Allura had wanted him so that Coran and Krolia could take a look at his arm themselves, under Pidge’s careful instruction, in order to compile a list of tools they might look for that could do the job of removing the heavy dying arm. 

Shiro was naturally thrilled to be exposed to more poking and prodding on his increasingly sore shoulder, but he bore it well. He had a soldier’s training. And eventually it was over.

It was properly dark when Shiro was finally released.

He walked instinctively to Keith’s room, but he paused at the door. It had been hours since he and Hunk had retired to bed, and he didn’t want to disrupt them. But at the same time, he had promised himself no more waiting.

No more wanting in vain.

No more life without Keith.

Or at least, without knowing he tried and failed. Though, truth be told, there was a small, small, piece of him, deep in his gut, that firmly believed there would be no failure.

He and Keith meant too much to each other. They cared too deeply for each other. He couldn’t fail.

Could he?

Shiro waited a vargas and a half, leaning against the door to Keith and Hunk’s room, fingers worrying the flesh of his shoulder, struggling to come to a decision.

He didn’t want to wake Keith. He especially did not want to wake Hunk.

He did not want to enter the room without permission.

But he did not want to leave without Keith.

If only there was a way to call him out. Let him know he was out there, and desperate for him.

Shiro sighed heavily.

Desperate. That was the word.

Desperate and… god, did he want a smoke?! Shiro didn’t smoke, he never had, and he never would. But right now, in the dark hallway, with the damp breeze in his white hair, lost and indecisive, and desperate for a younger man who had been denied him for far too long, Shiro wanted a smoke. 

Like an old, old movie. It felt right, like it fit his mood, to have a tiny stick of cancer between his lips.

Shiro shook himself and moved to a nearby window to push his head out into the lightening drizzle and clear his thoughts. 

He let himself wallow in indecision for another half a varga, knowing it was a losing battle. He couldn’t rouse Keith and confess to him, half-asleep. Keith was just as exhausted as everyone else, even if he didn’t show it.

Shiro sighed once more for good measure before he stepped lightly back from the window and padded up another floor to his own room.


	2. Confession and Mud Bogging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro finally gets a chance to talk to Keith, and some other stuff happens.

Shiro struggled to get the thin and strangely curved key from his pocket one-handed. It didn’t help that it was dark and he could barely see the keyhole.

A shadow closed in behind him, and he swung around swiftly.

“It’s just me, Shiro.” Keith’s voice was soft, and his hands were up in an unnecessary show of non-aggression. 

“Keith…” The name carried so much of the day’s tension off into the night. Shiro was sure he visibly relaxed at the sight of him. “I thought you had gone to bed?”

Keith shrugged. “You wanted to talk to me. It looked important.”

Looked important, not sounded. Had Keith read the desperation in his eyes?

Was he doing it now?

Shiro blinked back the thought and cleared his throat, but Keith spoke first.

“I want to show you something.” 

Keith moved off into the darkness without waiting for an answer; Shiro followed a half-pace behind without question. 

He led Shiro up another flight of stairs, and then another. Their breathing grew heavy from lifting themselves up the steep steps that accommodated the Bosners’ long legs.

At the top of these stairs there was something like a balcony. Keith climbed up on the thick stone railing, turned, and pulled himself up and onto the rough stone slab of the roof. He turned and reached behind him and Shiro knew he would lift him. He crawled up onto the railing, following Keith without question, and reached up to clasp his hand firm on Keith’s wrist. 

Keith pulled, and Shiro pressed himself up the wall with his boots until he landed on his stomach on the roof with an ‘oof.’

With a hand on his shoulder now, Keith pulled Shiro up on the roof. Then he turned and stepped up higher, stopping at the height of the roof to turn and sit. Shiro followed suit.

“It’s stopped raining,” he commented.

Laying back, the skies were mostly clear now, and the bright and distant stars glittered above them like beacons. They had likely passed some of them in their travels. Maybe they had even passed the ruins of a long-dead star whose lights were only now reaching this planet. 

Shiro took a slow, deep breath and then another. 

Now was his moment. He could feel it in the very fibre of his being, that this was the right moment.

He had Keith all to himself, alone on the rooftop. Even if it rained on them now, he knew Keith would wait for him and hear him out.

Shiro let himself relax in Keith’s solitary presence. 

“You wanted to say something?” Keith looked down at Shiro with his periphery. His arms wrapped around his knees and he set his gaze off to the dark horizon. 

“I did.” After so many years, he didn’t know how to say it.

There were no words.

But more importantly, Shiro turned from the stars to examine Keith. Something about his stance told Shiro he was expecting the worst. 

He didn’t know what Keith thought was coming, but he knew Keith was afraid.

Shiro raised his hand and laid it on Keith’s shoulder. He sat up straight and squeezed the sharp angle of Keith’s shoulder.

“Keith-“

“Shiro, are you leaving m- us?” Keith’s voice was deathly quiet. 

“No. I’m not. Unless you want me to.”

Keith shook his head. There was something of the old Keith in the movement, the younger Keith whose emotions ran wild though he was unwilling to give them voice.

“I don’t want you to go.” This new, honest Keith touched Shiro’s heart, and he sighed deeply at the relief the quiet words brought him.

“I’m not going anywhere, Keith. I wanted… to propose the opposite… in a way.”

Finally, Keith turned his head to glance sidelong back at Shiro.

“Keith, I…” Shiro let his words drip in emotions long held back. “I can’t go another day without you.”

Keith gave a low, hesitant little laugh. “I’m right here, Shiro.”

“No, Keith,” his hand dropped down Keith’s arm. He gave the smaller hand a light squeeze. Keith’s head whipped to look at him now, eyes wide. “I can’t go another day without telling you how I feel.

“I’ve…” the words were so hard. There were so many rushing around in Shiro’s brain, but so few would come out. “I’ve cared about you. More than you know. For… for so long.”

Shiro looked at his hand on Keith’s, but he could feel those sharp blue eyes on his face, absorbing every unsaid emotion as it played across Shiro’s scarred face.

“I need you, Keith.” Those words were like an explosion out of him. Shiro felt immediate relief at their release, and within a fraction of a second he felt such intense fear and pain that he wanted to bolt. 

This was it. He couldn’t turn back from this.

Everything up to now was a ‘before’ and soon there would be an ‘after.’ But ‘now’ was the cataclysm that destroyed their world. 

“Shiro…” the word eased Shiro’s pain and breathed life back into him.

Shiro’s grip tightened expectantly, encouragingly, on Keith’s.

Keith’s brows furrowed, like he was trying to solve a riddle quickly. “I care about you too.”

Shiro could hear his hesitation. He wasn’t making himself clear enough. 

They had always meant so much to each other. Keith needed to hear more. He needed it to be clear. Written in stone.

Shiro’s hand left Keith’s to touch lovingly along his cheek and cup at his chin. He pulled his dark eyes up to lock with Keith’s.

“Keith, I care about you more than anything else. Anything else.”

He saw his words reverberate in Keith’s mind, setting his turbulent thoughts straight.

Slowly, his eyes brightened. It warmed Shiro like a sunrise in winter.

Words filled Shiro now, pressed against his lips, aching, begging to be set free, but he held them back. It was Keith’s turn now, and Shiro would wait until he turned to stone if it meant Keith would reply.

His hunger for Keith’s reply was plain in his eyes, but he did not ask for it.

Keith, distracted by the captivating display of emotion behind Shiro’s eyes, was not fully cognizant of his silence. His mind was wheeling with Shiro’s words and with his own that begged to mirror his sentiments. He was so filled by the words, he did not realize they were not spoken aloud.

But, just as if he had repeated those soft, glorious words back to Shiro, Keith tipped forward and pressed his lips against Shiro’s.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Keith did not return to his room that night. If Hunk had noticed, he didn’t say anything. He ate his breakfast with gusto, complimenting the planet on producing such satisfying fruits and meats.

Shiro and Keith sat at the end of the table again, but this time, they couldn’t keep their eyes off each other.

More than once, Shiro wiggled his eyebrows with a grin, only to be kicked lightly under the table. Keith turned away when it happened, but his eyes returned after a moment to gaze back across the table at Shiro.

What did this make them now? Boyfriends?

Keith shied away from the word. It didn’t suit them. 

It couldn’t encompass all they had been through, all they had meant to each other. Boyfriends were high schoolers playing at romance.

Shiro was strength, and calm, and reassurance, and now he was also a strong arm around his waist holding him close, and soft damp lips pressing feverishly against his own. Shiro was gravity, and Keith was pulled inexorably to him. 

And a paltry word like boyfriend would never suffice to define them.

That being said, when he thought of calling Shiro his boyfriend he had to cover his mouth from letting that stupid grin take over his features again.

Keith had been smiling for hours, and it hurt his cheeks. He wanted to stop but then he looked at Shiro again, who looked at him, and that grin just redoubled it’s efforts. 

When Lance came to sit beside Shiro, Keith moved a hand to his forehead, covering his gaze. It was the only way to stop staring at Shiro like a lovesick fool.

“So… Shiro,” Lance said seriously, “What’s the first thing you want to do when you get home?”

Home. It had been a hot topic of conversation the past three days, and Keith knew it would be an endless source of new discussion topics up until they reached Earth.

Keith could admit that he was excited to return to Earth. He had been away longer than anyone else, thanks to the Quantum Abyss. He missed the smell of the air, the feel of the sand under his feet, and – thanks in large part to Hunk’s constant reminders – the taste of a burger in his mouth. 

But, truth be told, Keith was not sure that Earth was home any more. For the last two years, home had been a shelter on the back of a space whale. And before that, it had been the castle.

Over the last three days, the black lion had felt more like a home to him than any other place he had ever stayed.

It wasn’t hard to figure out why.

Home was not a place for Keith, and it never had been. Home was people.

For a long time, after his father died, had no one and no home. Then he met Shiro, and then the rest of the team, and they built themselves a small family in the castle and that had certainly been a kind of home for him. 

Now, on the black lion, with his mother and Shiro together, Keith had never felt more at home. He had never felt more loved.

It would have been overwhelming if it didn’t feel so perfectly right. 

Last night, Keith had felt the turning of the universe snap into place, like a key to a lock. Shiro loved him. He hadn’t said the words, not those exact ones, but what he said had meant more to Keith than a simple ‘I love you’ could have produced. 

Keith felt more like himself than he ever had before.

After they had kissed, after they had crept down from the roof and into Shiro’s dark bedroom, and after they had very awkwardly stripped down into something that could be called bedclothes, Keith and Shiro had lain down beside one another and they talked and they took turns holding each other. 

They talked for hours.

They talked about everything. About their pasts, about their time apart, about their wanting each other. 

Shiro spoke about the astral plain, and his voice had cracked, and Keith had held him tight to his chest until Shiro had spent all his tears. 

Keith spoke about finding his mother, not just finding her but meeting her, knowing her. He spoke about the peace of mind he had at long last for a wound he hadn’t known had been under his skin all along.

The night had drawn around them as long as the day had. They lay and talked until their tiredness pressed in on them, making them foggy and confused.

And then Shiro’s lips had found Keith’s once more. And they kissed slowly. Like every brush of their lips was healing a wound in their souls. The wounds of their long separation.

Keith had awakened to Shiro’s soft white hair tickling his nose, the weight of the wreckage of his arm heavy on his side. 

Keith had never seen such a beautiful morning. And now he was grinning into his breakfast like a madman, hiding his face from his friends while Shiro expertly fielded questions and speculations about Earth.

“First thing I’m doing when I get back to Earth?” Hunk twisted himself on the bench beside Keith, dropping his second plateful on the makeshift table. “Hugging my grandma.”

“Really? Not inventing that pizza cheeseburger you’re always on about?”

“One:” Hunk used his fork as emphasis, splattering bits of food across the table, “it’s already been invented. I want to perfect it. Two: my grandmother is more important than any cheeseburger.”

A small piece of a vegetable that looked like a small mushy grape flew at Hunk’s second point and landed in Keith’s hair. 

Shiro reached out and picked it from Keith’s hair with a soft look, not realizing what he had done until he saw the blush creep across Keith’s cheeks.

Luckily, Pidge appeared at Keith’s other side just then and distracted everyone from Shiro’s replying blush and the cough he used to cover it up. 

“Not even the garlic grilled-cheese-burger?” she asked. She hopped onto the bench with a plate of what could best be described as ‘dessert meat.’ 

“Not even for a triple stacked, garlic-grilled-cheese-pizza-burger with extra pickles.” Hunk’s voice was deadly serious, which made everyone grin, but no one laughed because inside they all felt a sudden ache for their own families. 

Pidge broke the descending silence with a hesitant clearing of her throat. “I hope the detour doesn’t take too long.”

“Uhh, detour?” Lance asked.

Pidge nodded gravely. “For Shiro’s arm. We need parts to try and dismantle it. And a sterile place to do the dismantling.”

Suddenly, no one was looking at Shiro.

Keith flicked his eyes up and saw Shiro was also looking down, as if he was ashamed his arm was delaying their arrival at Earth.

Keith lifted his foot to press it gently over Shiro’s, and he saw the thin lips flicker briefly into a grateful smile before he relaxed somewhat in his seat.

“Ya, but Allura and Coran are heading out soon to some of the other planets in this system to see if they have anything we can try.” Hunk’s voice was forcibly reassuring.

“What’s a few extra days here or there?” Lance’s voice was cheerier than normal. “Doesn’t change the fact that we’re heading home. It’s only a matter of time and then it’s pizza-burgers for everyone.”

“And Grandma hugs!”

“Yes! And everyone is hugging Hunk’s Grandma!”

Keith laughed with the others. He was thankful for their speedy return to frivolity. The darkening shadows behind Shiro’s eyes worried him. 

They had talked for hours, but there was still so much more to discuss. 

Keith hadn’t been able to bring himself to ask about Shiro’s arm. Hadn’t mentioned the guilt that piled upon guilt in Keith’s heart over the last few days as the reality of what had happened sunk in. 

The smell of burning ozone tore Keith from his thoughts, and he turned in time to see the fading flash of blue as Wolf landed behind him. 

Hunk flinched at the large animal’s sudden appearance.

Keith automatically reached behind him to pat at the cosmic wolf’s ears. He offered Wolf what remained on his plate, which he ate in two great licks before he started diligently cleaning the plate.

“Here,” Pidge offered her own plate down to the wolf. He eyed her warily for a moment, not as immediately trusting of the food offered by a near-stranger. He sniffed at the meat she offered, licked her plate clean, and then jumped up to lick at her face. “Hey! Keith, get your dog down!” Her laugh rang through the room.

“He’s a wolf, not a dog,” Keith corrected, hugging Wolf to pull him off Pidge. 

“What’s his name, anyway?” Lance asked, leaning across the table with a light in his eyes like he wanted nothing more but to bury his hands in the long black and blue fur.

“Wolf.”

“You named your wolf Wolf?” Lance deadpanned. 

Keith shrugged, his attention now focused entirely on Shiro’s torn, almost pained, look. He followed his gaze to the other end of the table, where Allura and Coran sat over their empty breakfast plates.

Krolia stood at the end of the table, speaking in a serious voice to the two Alteans.

One by one, the rest of the crew followed Keith’s example, and soon they were all quiet, listening to Krolia’s report.

Krolia spoke up when she saw that everyone’s attention was on her. 

“There’s nothing here that would work as a tool for Galra tech, their surgical tools are too large for delicate work”

The bobbing motion of Shiro’s Adams apple at the mention of surgical tools caught Keith’s attention. He wanted to reach a hand out, but settled for once again stretching his foot to press against Shiro’s.

“They said the best bet is Planet Q, at the edge of this system. It was once a Galra outpost, and it has a steady trade with the rest of the system. It’s two quintents flight there.”

Allura’s voice was hesitant as she responded, “That’s a little far for just Coran and I. We had thought we would check some of the nearer planets for the tools before we went so far out in search.”

Krolia’s face was impassive. “My intel says it would be a waste of time to check the other planets. We’re not even guaranteed Planet Q will have what we need.”

“We could stay here,” Hunk supplied, trying to moderate the hopefulness in his voice, “you know, relax a bit. The food’s good, and the beds are comfy.”

“But that puts us 4 quintents behind,” Pidge countered. “Plus the time it takes to scout around a new planet. Plus the time it takes for Coran to barter.”

“Hey! A master takes the time he needs for his craft,” Coran defended lightly, pulling smiles from the younger paladins. 

It was a little disorienting how little they had changed while he was gone. But then, Keith reminded himself, it was only months for them. 

“But we’ve already been flying for days, and we’re all tired and cramped. I think Hunk has a point, a little rest would do us all well. We don’t have the healing pods anymore, and I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still tired.” Lance slumped dramatically against the table as if that proved his point.

Allura looked like she was swaying from Hunk and Lance’s arguments, and she looked to Krolia for support. “How likely did they seem that we would find what we need on Planet Q?”

“They weren’t very clear. If it was an ex-outpost there could be some good materials left over. If they weren’t all sold or bartered when the Galra pulled out.”

Keith shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense to split up our team and our resources across this system on a chance. Just because the Galra have been quiet in this quadrant lately doesn’t mean they won’t come this way to investigate after all that happened with Lotor. And besides,” Keith glanced quickly to Shiro, trying to get a read on what the man was thinking. “Wouldn’t it be best to have Shiro there, and Pidge, to make sure we get everything we need?”

Everyone paused to consider Keith’s words.

“Keith’s right,” Shiro sounded as if he had been holding his breath, and the words had rode out of him on a great sigh. “We should stick together. We don’t have the protection of the castle, so we don’t want to split up Voltron too.”

“The sooner we get the tools and fix Shiro’s arm, the sooner we’re on our way home.” Pidge’s sound reasoning was the nail in the coffin of the others’ arguments. 

“B-b-but the bed…” Lance whimpered to Hunk, pouting.

“I hear ya, buddy. But Pidge is right.”

Krolia took the sudden silence as a consensus. She nodded sharply and then moved away to settle up with the owner of the hotel and restaurant.

They settled back into conversation then, but Keith and Shiro both stayed quiet. Shiro’s face was darkening, and this time another press to his foot didn’t solve it. Keith could feel his own lips tightening into a thin line in response, but he couldn’t help it. 

He didn’t know what Shiro was thinking, just that he was upset. And he didn’t know how he could help, especially not with all these people here. He loved his friends, truly he did, but right now he just wanted them gone. 

Wolf’s sighing huff behind him gave him the idea. 

“Well,” Keith interrupted the conversation the had not been listening to, standing up with a bit of a stretch, “if we’re going to be flying again for the next 2 quintents, I think I’d better give Wolf a run.” 

His dark eyes on Shiro’s were an open invitation. And his furrowed brow at Lance’s brightening face was a clear un-invitation. 

Shiro didn’t move right away, but when Keith and Wolf stepped out into the sun and the mud his voice called to them to wait for him. 

“A stretch doesn’t seem like a bad idea,” there was a hint of shyness in Shiro’s voice that Keith had never heard before. 

It struck him then how truly beautiful Shiro looked with a faint blush on his cheeks. It dumbfounded Keith for a moment.

“Come on.” Keith took them past a few smaller rock buildings, and down a muddy path that opened up into a large expanse. It was like a desert, if a desert was made of mud. 

Keith set off at a jog once they were out in the open and Shiro followed after, matching his pace in the sinking ground.

Wolf took off running almost before Keith had begun to jog himself. He ran ahead, scouting the terrain, nose low as he quickly skirted this way and that. He kept his ears trained on Keith, and glanced back frequently to keep on eye on them. Just like when they were hunting, Wolf was checking for signals. 

Keith moved right, and Wolf veered right as well. He turned a harder right, heading towards a rocky outcrop along the edge of the expanse, and Wolf immediately rushed forward to the rocks.

Keith laughed as Wolf rushed past them, throwing large clumps of mud into the air in his wake.

Keith caught Shiro’s eye and grinned, showing off. He raised his fist and gave a short whistle, and Wolf stopped dead in his tracks. The wolf looked dutifully at Keith, who opened his fist and gestured curtly right.

Wolf barrelled right, following his order. He flashed up to the top of the round boulder that led higher up along the outcrop. He surveyed the expanse of desert below with hunter’s eyes, awaiting further orders.

Keith and Shiro passed beneath the panting cosmic wolf, and Keith waved an arm over his head, freeing Wolf to run once again.

Wolf ran quickly along the expanding ridge. He bounded along the rocks, able to push himself off the solid stone with more force than he could in the mud. 

He raced ahead until the rocks grew steep, then he jumped off the side, transporting himself several times as he climbed down the sheer rockface.

Wolf’s final transportation landed him squarely on Keith’s chest, sending the man sprawling backwards in the mud. 

Keith laughed as Wolf pawed at him and licked his face.

Then one great paw landed on Keith’s sore left side and Keith cried out in pain. “Ok boy, ok! Get off.” He firmly pushed the beast away. 

“Are you ok?”

Shiro dropped to his knees at Keith’s side, reaching out to touch at his ribs, but stopping his hands before they reached him.

“I’m fine.” Keith grimaced as he lifted himself to lean on his elbows in the mud. “It’s just sore still.”

“May I?” Shiro asked, his hand moving to hover over the edge of Keith’s shirt.

Keith swallowed thickly and nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

Shiro lifted the mud-splattered shirt clinically, but the eyes that washed over Keith’s lithe body were anything but clinical. Shiro’s eyes looked haunted as they scanned the large, black bruises and angry red cuts.

“I-I’m so sorry.” Shiro’s voice was thick, and his fingers were delicate as they traced the outline of the nasty looking bruise that circled Keith’s ribs.

“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault. And I’d do it all again in a minute.” He waited for Shiro’s eyes to drift up, skirting unseeing past the scar of his cheek, to meet his own before he continued, “If I hadn’t fought – him – I would never have found you.” 

He wanted to say more. He wanted to apologize for not realizing sooner. How could he have not known there was an imposter? 

But the words died on Keith’s lips, and he turned away. 

“We should head back.”

“Right.” Shiro sat back and jumped to his feet, but he overcompensated for his missing arm and the mud at his feet, and ended up falling to his backside, his legs throwing mud in a wide arc. 

“Shiro!” Keith crawled on his knees in the mud to his side.

“I’m alright. I just pushed too hard.”

Shiro was embarrassed, but Keith just smiled down at him. 

“You don’t know your own strength,” he gently teased. 

Keith pushed himself up and then reached down with mud-covered fingers to pull Shiro up after him.

With a glint in his eye, Shiro reached for the hand and tugged to pull Keith down on top of him. But all he managed to do was pull the mud from Keith’s wrists so it landed with a slick plopping noise on his chest.

Undeterred, Shiro tried again, and this time he pulled Keith down into the mud with him.

“Shiro!” Keith laughed as he fell. They laughed together.

Keith’s hands and knees sank several inches into the mud, he could feel it ooze between his fingers, but he paid it little attention.

It occurred to Keith then that he was straddling Shiro. 

It was not the first time he had done so. They had trained and sparred together for so long it was actually a very familiar position. Knees spread over Shiro’s waist, hands framing his face as Keith leaned over him.

But this was the first time he had done it since they had confessed. Since they had kissed.

Those kisses last night had been deep and full of emotion. They had been soothing and earth-shattering all in one. But they had also hinted at a fire, burning just below the surface of both men.

A fire of passion and desire that they had yet to let loose. 

Keith shifted onto his knees, relieving some of his weight from Shiro’s hips. The fire intimidated him. As much as he longed for it, he was hesitant to reach out and touch it.

Still, his eyes watched Shiro’s lips as he laughed and Keith felt his fears and resistance slowly eek out of his body. 

Shiro tracked mud along Keith’s jaw and neck as he pulled him down into a fierce kiss. 

Keith lost himself in this kiss. Lost where he ended and Shiro began. Lost all rationality to the burning demands of desire.

He leaned down into the kiss, his hands curling around fistfuls of mud. 

Shiro’s lips were hot and demanding, and Keith met those demands with some of his own. His tongue ventured deep into Shiro’s waiting mouth, tasting him.

Keith wanted – no, needed – to know Shiro. Know all of Shiro. Intimately. 

Their teeth clashed when Keith pressed himself down too eagerly. But Shiro just tightened his grasp on Keith’s neck, holding him in place.

Keith’s knees were locked, keeping his body from pressing against Shiro and pushing them both, sinking, down into the mud. He wanted more. He wanted to press himself closer. He wanted to lose himself utterly in Shiro’s strong body.

But he didn’t let himself.

The heat of their passionate embrace raged through them like a wildfire. It was fast and brutal. 

But before long, they slowed. The fire receded down to embers. Ready to rekindle at a moments notice. 

Their kisses grew sweet and slow once more. And then finally Keith pulled back.

They smiled at each other then.

Shiro wiped some of the mud from Keith’s jaw, then teasingly wiped it on the end of Keith’s nose.

“Shiro!” Keith laughed. He tried to rub it off on his sleeve, but just ended up with another larger streak of mud along his cheek.

Wolf barked then, and both men turned to see that he had, in their distraction, followed their lead and rolled happily in the mud.

All three of them were caked in mud and they laughed even louder.

They walked back together in comfortable silence. 

Tentatively, Shiro reached out and held Keith’s hand in his own. 

But then Shiro’s feet began to drag in the mud. Walking became more difficult, so Shiro dropped Keith’s hands a few moments later with a “sorry” and a rushed explanation. It was throwing off his balance, and it was harder to walk without an arm swinging at his side to compensate for the dead weight of his robotic arm. 

Keith shrugged. “It’s not like we can really walk back over to the others holding hands anyway.”

“Heh heh.. right…” Shiro said weakly.

They had both decided the night before that they would keep things quiet for now. There had been so much going on, so much to process, for the other teammates and for themselves. It was in everyone’s best interest to keep it to themselves for now while they figure it out on their own.

Neither of them were comfortable with the idea, but they had both agreed it was the best way forward for now. 

Keith had never been someone who was big on opening up and sharing all of his life’s stories with anyone, even with the rest of his team. But omission had never felt so much like a lie before.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They hosed all of the mud off Wolf and then off Shiro and Keith, which quickly turned into a water fight with the rest of the paladins.

It ended just as quickly when Krolia was doused by Hunk and they all scattered to the wind. 

A half a varga later and they were all assembled at their lions, damp, but ready to go. Kaltenecker was more than hesitant to return to the red lion with Lance, but they herded her into the ship with some help from Wolf.

They flew to Planet Q without incident. Shiro did his best to hide his constant attention to Keith from Krolia. He didn’t think it was working; it was a confined space and she had sharp eyes and a keen mind. But she said nothing and treated Shiro no different, so he did his best not to panic.

Planet Q was disappointing. There was a screw-driver-like Galran tool that Pidge assured him would be useful, but it was otherwise a waste of time. 

Every merchant they spoke with gave them the same information: “If it’s Galra tools you’re looking for, you’d best go to the Serpentine Belt in the Zephir quadrant. They were neutral between the Volton Alliance and the Galra Empire, and they’re the best place for tools and parts on this side of the galaxy.”

So they headed to the Serpentine Belt with heavy hearts. Everyone noticed that this took them several quintents in the opposite direction of Earth, but no one dared to mention it. 

They stopped where they were able to sleep, often landing their lions on wasteland planets while they rested. The Serpentine Belt edged a significant tract of Galra territory, and the closer they got, the more on edge they felt.

For the final 2 quintents of the trip they did not stop flying, but took shifts leading the pack while the others rested. 

The black lion had a second set of shifts as well. Keith was awake when it was his turn to pilot the lion and lead the group. When he resumed auto-pilot and let another paladin lead, he would sleep and either his mother or Shiro would sit in the pilots seat, monitoring the screens for signs of attack or unsafe flying conditions. 

Krolia kept special attention on the communications, waiting for a signal from the Blade. But they were far on the edges of the galaxy now, and even less likely to be in range of the Blade. 

Shiro sat in the pilot’s seat of the black lion in what could best be described as a stupor. His eyes stared, half-seeing, at the blinking lights of the screens before him. The palm of his hand absently holding the heavy metal that used to be his Galran arm. He was conscious enough to know that everything was fine. 

Lance was leading the team in the red lion and they would likely reach the Serpentine Belt before the end of his shift. Soon there would be beds, and hopefully showers, and space to move. They were all feeling a little stir-crazy from their journey, and there was still so long to go.

Shiro was not thinking about anything in particular. His mind drifted from topic to topic, seamlessly moving from an introspection on Keith’s often overlooked but ever-present kindness, to a review of their defenses in the unknown political climate following Lotor’s sudden disappearance, to a hopeful imagining of what his bed would feel like when they reached the belt at last. 

Krolia’s hand on his shoulder roused Shiro from his stupor.

“What is it?” he asked, instantly alert. He scanned the screens again, but nothing had changed since his last review less than a dobash ago. 

Krolia’s unreadable expression made Shio feel inadequate, and slightly chastised. “I wasn’t sleeping,” he explained, doing his best to sound like a grown adult and not a sleepy, sulking child. “I was just lost in thought.”

“I know,” her face lightened then, not exactly in a smile, but it hinted that a smile might lurk beneath her cool exterior. She was so similar to Keith it was almost funny. “We’re not far from the belt now. I was there once, the merchant sector is large and widespread. Go rest, you’ll need your energy. It won’t be an easy trip.” 

Shiro heard her unsaid “for you: it won’t be an easy trip for you.” 

He had to agree. He was not looking forward to it.

He murmured his thanks around a yawn and stretched while he padded to the back room. 

Over the last few quintents they had shuffled the boxes here and there, expanding the small clearing in the back corner into a small nest. The boxes offered the illusion of the security and privacy of walls. It was ideal now that there was always someone awake in the head of the lion. It was hard to sleep in the front when they never stopped flying; so just like they took turns monitoring black’s sensors, they took turns sleeping in the pile of pillows and blankets in their makeshift room.

Keith and Wolf lay together along the side of the small enclosed space. Keith had forgone his pillow in preference of Wolf’s hindquarters. A decision which had backfired on several occasions when Wolf began to dream and kicked Keith squarely in the chest, but Keith apparently refused to learn that lesson.

Shiro could see the pile of blankets where Krolia had lain on the other side of the room. That was where Shiro should lay. For appearances, if nothing else. 

But he knew that Krolia would wake them with a shout from the cockpit when it was time to wake up. She would never leave the pilots chair unattended while flying, no matter how much she trusted the lion’s navigation systems. 

So Shiro dropped gently to his knees on the soft mess of pillows and blankets and scootched himself closer to Keith, which was not a particularly graceful activity to do one-handed. But still, he moved himself close to the sleep-warm body, resting his head on his arm and inching closer so that his forehead rested lightly against Keith’s chest. 

It was still so new to touch Keith like this, to know the warm comfort of his embrace. It was new, and wonderful. 

He was lulled to sleep quickly, listening to Keith and Wolf breathing in harmony. He woke briefly when he felt Keith’s arm wrap around his chest to press a warm hand between his shoulder blades and pull Shiro closer. Shiro didn’t open his eyes to see if Keith had woken, or if he had acted out of instinct. He just smiled into Keith’s chest and let sleep draw him back down into himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for coming back and reading chapter 2! I hope you guys are enjoying it so far.
> 
> I'm excited for tomorrow because we'll finally be earning that explicit rating!! 
> 
> Also, I HC that Keith's wolf is named Wolf so hard, I'm not sure I'll accept any other name when season 7. I really enjoy some of the other HC names I've seen in other fics, especially Blink, but to me, the wolf is Wolf. 
> 
> I love your comments, so bring them on!


	3. Shopping, Angst, and Sexy Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search continues for tools to help with Shiro's arm, and then after a long, emotional, conversation the boys have some fun.

The Serpentine Belt was so named for its line of 12 planets that snaked a path between 7 stars. The stars were close enough that their separate gravities fought for control of the string of planets, pulling ever forward between one and then the next until they swung around the final sun and launched back into the middle, like a confused and twisted infinity sign.

Time telling in the belt, Coran had explained, was incredibly difficult and convoluted. A year lasted a full revolution of their twisting route between the stars, which lasted generations under Altean calculations. The length also varied, as the various suns shifted under their own gravitational pulls, the route changed year to year. Nighttime was only experienced in the belt when the planets curved around one end or the other, so that their sky shone only with one star, rather than all 7.

There was no natural life on the planets, though some ground-dwelling species had been introduced to several of the planets that boasted strong underground rivers. 

The only way in or out of the planets were via gravitational tunnels, controlled by the political leaders. That was how they had managed to maintain neutrality in the Galran conquest. Protected by their seven suns, they only ever let in a limited amount of visitors at one time. 

They had been hesitant at first to let the lions of Voltron into their space. But news of Lotor’s disappearance, and the resulting fracture of the alliance between Voltron and the Galra, had not yet reached this corner of the universe, and Coran smooth-talked them into opening the tunnel and letting the lions through. 

3 of the 12 planets were habitable, the largest and most visited planet, the capital, was near the centre of the chain. 

From a distance, the planet looked fully metallic. Closer inspection confirmed that most of the entire planet had been covered in heavy metal plating, protecting the inhabitants from monstrous amounts of radiation. They were not close enough to the suns to burn on contract, but the concentrated power of several suns beaming upon the surface at once meant that UV radiation could blind, and likely boil, within seconds. 

Keith flew the black lion steadily through the tunnel. They had opened it just wide enough to let the lions squeeze through: another security measure. 

These security measures set Shiro’s teeth on edge. 

The whole trip had his teeth on edge. 

His arm – his terrible, traitorous, murderous, broken mechanical arm – was taking up valuable time and resources, further delaying their return to Earth. He hated that he needed the detour. He hated that the remnants of its mechanisms grew heavier and more irritating with each passing quintent. 

His fingers were nearly permanently digging into his shoulder now, trying to relieve the tension, but all he really did was make the flesh more tender. He could barely move it now. Before he could shrug, and wiggle it as he moved. It helped compensate for some of the missing weight as he walked, but now he tipped as he and Wolf circled the black lion’s control panels on their daily walk. 

Keith did what he could, when he could. But that was very little, and Shiro was still very uncomfortable with the idea of Keith touching the twisted metal. 

Because they had come as official Voltron Lions, they were given a hasty reception by the local leaders and forced to schedule meeting time for the following quintent to discuss politics. There was some momentary confusion, when Rh’al (the tall, thin, cat-like president of the Belt) greeted Allura as the Princess of Altea and turned, looking expectantly to Shiro, hoping to be introduced to the leader of Voltron. 

Keith stepped forward before anyone had the chance to explain. He shook the cat man’s hand firmly, taking on the mantle of leader like it had already been decided.

Shiro was grateful for Keith’s quick thinking, because he himself had frozen stiff. He was too broken to lead, physically and mentally. But Keith – well, Keith had grown in more than just stature in his time away from them. Even though not much had happened since their battle with Lotor, Keith had shown his newfound skill and desire to lead the team in smaller ways. It make Shiro proud to watch him finally come into his own.

They held the pretense of a political visit until they were behind closed doors. Rh’al appeared to be an intelligent man, uneasy about their arrival despite the news of tentative peace between them and the Galra. He was even more uneasy when Allura shamefacedly admitted they had allowed him to believe information that was no longer true.

“We did not mean to be dishonest,” she vowed, her voice wavering with remorse and sincerity. “We do not mean to bring our struggles to your door, we would have much preferred to come here quietly without notice. We are here to help our friend, and no more.”

Rh’al considered them for a long moment.

“There are not many Galra here. What few have been allowed on the Belt mostly all left after Zarkon’s demise. There are some here who are loyal to the Galra, but I do not expect they will cause much trouble if you lay low.” He touched his fingers to his forehead and sighed with he weight of his presidency, “You are hardly the first who have distorted the truth to gain entrance to our world, and you will not be the last. I appreciate your honesty. Our policy has always been to allow anyone entrance who had no intent on harming us or others. If you remain true to that word, you may stay here as long as you must.”

Allura thanked the man profusely, and promised they would not outlast their welcome. 

They were given spacious accommodations in a suite with enough rooms that Hunk joked even Wolf and Kaltenecker each could have their own room. 

Soon enough, they were split into two factions and set loose on the expansive market of the Belt’s capital planet. Pidge, Coran, Krolia, and Shiro were dispatched to search for the tools necessary for Shiro’s arm, while the others had formed “Team Hunk” to roam in search of non-perishable food that would cook easily with their limited facilities. 

A look from Shiro had Keith deserting Team Hunk without even a feigned word of regret. Lance called him a traitor, and Hunk mourned the loss of the extra set of hands, but no one on “Team Shiro” commented on the less-than-necessary addition. 

Saying the market was expansive was a gross understatement. It was buried deep underground, and it quite literally circumferenced the planet. Just as the planet had been covered in thick metal sheeting protecting from radiation, the infrastructure likewise covered the planet. It was organized in layers. The top layers were defense and scientific research, the next was political and judicial, then there were several layers of housing, then, close to the planet’s surface, was their terraforming where crops and livestock were raised, and then below ground was the market and the various trades that kept such an imposing structure running smoothly.

The market was, naturally, enormous. It was laid out in sectors, and some hyper-organized creature had clearly spent a great deal of their time attempting to bring order to this chaos. Everything was lined out in grids, organized as close as possible based on the wares they offered. Foods were spread out in small clusters, so that everyone would have easy access, while the more specialized stores (such as tech and tools) were gathered in large swaths, each building pressing against the next in a subtle fight for dominancy over the others. 

If Shiro had had the wherewithal to pay any attention to his surroundings, he would have found it curious how such a clearly man-made (or alien-made, as the case may be) organization could create such natural-looking displays of the principles of “survival of the fittest.” He would also have been appreciative of the fact that there was no one dominant race or species on this planet. Almost everywhere they had been in the universe, each planet was typically dominated by one or two species, sometimes with visitors and immigrants sprinkled around here and there. But never before had they visited a planet with such variety of peoples, not one of them dominant over the other.  
It was all due to the fact that the Serpentine Belt supported no natural life, Coran had explained when Pidge had commented on the incredible diversity of the market. With no natural population, anyone from anywhere could come to the Belt and make it home. 

“Yes, I remember when I was a lad, people would flock in droves to the Belt. ‘Come to the Belt’ they cried all around the universe, ‘Make a new home for yourself here. All are welcome on the Belt.’ They called it the Siren Song of the Serpent,” Coran chuckled. “It was like that wild west Lance talks about in those movies of his. They had only moderate radiation protection then, and I daresay they didn’t have this lovely air-conditioning system at the time, but the call drew some of the greatest technical minds here, and look what they’ve built.”

Coran raised his arms to the expansive market, with it’s vaulted ceiling, and artificial sky. The air conditioning was supreme, creating drafts and breezes through the streets almost like they were really outdoors, and not several hundred feet below the surface of the planet. 

Krolia was clearly interested in Coran’s impromptu history lesson, and began to question him about the early days of the Serpentine Belt, drawing the tall man into a lengthy discussion of early settlers and the horrors of UV radiation. Pidge led the way through the throngs, a map open on her holo-pad. Keith and Shiro fell to the rear of the group, with Wolf staying close to Keith’s side.

Nonchalantly, Keith moved from Shiro’s right side to his left, under the pretense of looking into the windows of one shop advertising top of the line entertainment devices. When he trotted back to Shiro’s side, he shot a quick look to Krolia, Coran, and Pidge’s back before he reached over and linked his hand in Shiro’s.

Shiro stirred suddenly out of his darkening thoughts, and looked up at Keith in surprise.

Keith smiled reassuringly at his boyfriend and squeezed his hand, but said nothing. 

Shiro took a deep calming breath, and then he took another 3 for good measure. He could feel his resolve returning to him through the warm hand that held his own firmly in its grasp. He hadn’t fully realized he was spiraling towards a panic attack until Keith had subtly knocked him out of it. 

As badly as he wanted all traces of this metal arm gone, he feared the process of disassembly. He feared every step of it, from Pidge’s earlier innocuous testing, to this current preparation and search for tools (and replacement parts; no one had dared to mention it to him as of yet, but he knew Coran, Pidge, and Hunk were already working on a replacement using a mix of Altean tech and all of the other non-Galra tech they had encountered since they left Earth). Shiro especially feared the next step: the removal of this cancerous metal.

They spent 2 long quintents down in the market, looking through every nook and cranny of every tech and medical supply shop they could find. Many of the prospective tools were held, or tapped, or raked over Shiro’s dead appendage. The only change between the first and second quintent was that Hunk joined them after having fully stocked the lions with food to last them weeks.

It was physically and emotionally exhausting. Not to mention painful. Which Shiro didn’t mention, though everyone seemed to read it in his eyes because every time one of them approached him with a new tool they all had the same downcast, pitying look to their eyes. 

Shiro looked like an absolute zombie that night over supper. He ate slowly, slumped over his plate, actively coaching himself through each bite, chew, and swallow. 

He felt Keith’s hand rest on his lower back, his thumb circling soothingly over his spine. Keith had been doing that a lot the last 2 quintents, offering his small, hidden reassurances through physical contact. He was doing his best to ease the pain and strife that was mounting inside Shiro. He loved Keith for it, but it could only do so much.

Still, he sighed deeply into the soothing touch, feeling some of his more immediate stress ebb away.

The rest of the team blinked at him. 

“Are you all right, Shiro?” Allura asked sympathetically.

Keith shifted in his seat, trying to hide the angle of his arm and make it less obvious that he was clearly touching Shiro’s back. 

“I’m fine,” it wasn’t exactly a lie, because at this moment he was feeling marginally better than he had so far all day. “I’m just tired.”

They all nodded understandingly; Shiro looked down to his plate to pretend he didn’t see them all exchanging worried glances over him. 

“I imagine you are,” Allura’s voice was gentle as ever, and it helped Keith’s slow touch to soothe Shiro’s frayed nerves. “You should get some rest. We aren’t in any danger of over-staying our welcome here just yet, you don’t have to push yourself so hard.”

“I probably have enough data now,” Pidge offered from the other end of the table, “We can do without you tomorrow. If you wanted to stay here.”

Shiro smiled, “Thanks, Pidge. There was just the one place left you wanted to try, right? I’m sure I can handle one more shop.” 

Pidge looked suddenly guilty and she shifted awkwardly in her seat. “Well… yes,’ she said. “There’s just one more I need to check. But if you wanted to stay here, there’s actually a few places farther away I wanted to take a look at, just in case. They say Sector 527 has the really good medical bay, and if we took the shuttle we could probably look at a couple of places before lights-down…”

She left the rest of her thought unfinished, and had clearly done her best to hide the fire in her eyes and desire in her voice. 

Shiro chuckled and leaned back, trapping Keith’s hand in the plush of the chair back. “If you think you can do it without me, you should go.”

“Yes!” Pidge’s voice was animated now, “I’ll bring that Homera scalpel we found that could cut your metal so we can use that as a base to test the others.”

Everyone felt more relieved at that. 

Shiro shuffled off to bed not long after. He didn’t feel like sleeping, but he was tired beyond belief. All he wanted was to lay in bed, with the lights turned dim, and the heavy weight of his metal stub eased by the soft mattress. 

Keith watched protectively as Shiro passed the others and said his good nights. He had to fight the urge to follow immediately after him. In some ways, he thought, it would be easier to let everyone know now. But he knew that would only be for the superficial things, like holding hands, or rubbing Shiro’s back. The relationship was still too new, and Shiro was still too fragile.

It was concerning. Shiro seemed to be becoming more fragile, not less, as time wore on. His new body had seemed less foreign when his arm still had power enough to move. Now it caused him constant irritation, if not pain. The sight of him, digging the flat of his fingers into the raw flesh of his arm, grey eyes darkened with pain and tumultuous thoughts that Keith couldn’t begin to fathom, made Keith feel useless and impotent. 

They hadn’t even had a chance to talk about it yet. The only quiet moments they’d had together lately were when they were asleep, and a few soft, lazy kisses as they had switched shifts. 

Keith helped the others clear and clean their supper from the table. The moment they were done he turned to make the excuse of going to bed himself, thinking he could slip into Shiro’s room unnoticed while everyone else was still awake and distracted by the comforts of their accommodations. Lance had discovered some highly realistic video games during yesterday’s food run and Hunk had started a pool about how many times Lance would die before he accidentally broke his controller, which had sufficiently entertained them for the majority of the day and promised to continue doing so well into the night.

Allura stopped Keith with a hesitant smile before he could leave the kitchen area. “Keith, do you have a moment?”

“Sure,” he replied, “Will this take long?”

“Maybe half a varga?”

Keith nodded, then snapped his fingers at his side. Wolf appeared in a haze of burnt ozone at his side, and Keith kneeled down to pet and whisper to his companion. “Go lay down with Shiro, boy,” he instructed quietly. 

Wolf licked his face once, and then ran off, flashing as he transported through Shiro’s closed door.

When Keith finally freed himself from Allura and the others, he crept into Shiro’s dim room and locked the door behind himself. He found Shiro and Wolf huddled together in the large, plush, Beltian bed. 

Keith whistled for Wolf to jump down off the bed, and then crawled into his vacant space next to Shiro. He pulled a pillow close so that he didn’t have to lay his head on the hard twisted metal on Shiro’s right side, and pressed his forehead close against Shiro’s chest. 

“Did Wolf keep you company?”

“Of course.”

At his name, Wolf pricked up his ears, then quickly jumped back into bed, nuzzling his head against Keith’s back. Keith and Shiro chuckled at Wolf’s heavy sigh, as if the wolf carried the weight of all their troubles on his furry back.

“I expected you earlier,” Shiro said softly, his arm reaching out to draw slowly up and down Keith’s arm. 

“Allura wanted to talk. We have some more meetings to go to tomorrow. We might be here a little bit longer.”

“Why’s that?” Shiro’s eyes were focused and his tone showed he was paying attention. He was comfortable, as comfortable as he could be, which made him alert and interested.

“The other planets in the Belt, the two others that are habitable, are filled with refugees. Apparently, almost everyone who comes here is someone looking for a safe haven.”

Shiro sighed with sudden understanding. “That explains their security. And their neutrality. They wouldn’t want the Galra looking at them as a target if they’ve got 2 planets worth of refugees under their protection”

Keith slid a hand along Shiro’s abdomen, feeling the strength and security of the other man. He understood the situation so immediately. He was their true leader, and Keith only paled in comparison.

But still, it was a position Shiro was no longer willing, or truly able, to command. It’s was Keith’s responsibility, and like it or not, he had to do his best.

“The planets are nearing the end of their revolution of the suns. It won’t be long before they orbit only one sun. The president wants to offer us the chance to speak to his people and try and recruit to join our Alliance, if we help increase the defenses on the other two planets.”

“Keith, we have to do it.” Shiro’s voice was not quite a reprimand, but it was sharp. He could not understand the hesitancy in Keith’s tone.

“I know,” Keith’s voice was not quite sulking. “It’s just, it’s more delays.” Shiro’s eyes bore down at the top of Keith’s head, waiting for the real reason. Keith fiddled with the fabric of Shiro’s shirt between his fingers, delaying just a little longer. “And… I’m not good that this diplomacy thing. You guys did all those shows, flying around in the lions and with Voltron to rouse support. I can’t do that! I’m… I’m not…”

Shiro hissed a noise that was almost a laugh. He drew Keith’s chin up so that they could look at each other properly.

“Keith, that was the hardest part of leading Voltron. All those shows Coran made us do?” Shiro shuddered for emphasis; Keith unconsciously drew himself closer. “It’s not fun, but you’ll get through it. Listen to Coran and Lance, they’re surprisingly insightful. Just be calm and speak honestly.”

Shiro’s fingers drew up from Keith’s chin along the curving line of his jaw, offering support and reassurance. It gave Keith just a taste of what he wanted, and he was filled with the sudden desire to feel Shiro’s lips against his own.

Keith pressed forward, stretching his body until his lips met Shiro’s. He took all the reassurance Shiro could offer him through lips alone, offering his own comfort to Shiro through their gentle kisses. 

When they broke apart, Keith felt relieved. He was more than willing to let tomorrow’s meeting be a problem for tomorrow’s Keith. 

Keith leaned back down to rest his head on his pillow, tilting his head to press his ear to Shiro’s chest and listen to the steady heartbeat and feel the rhythmic beat against his cheek. His hand slid around Shiro to strum lightly up and down along his spine.

It was a long time before Keith spoke. 

“I want you to be able to talk to me, Shiro.”

“About what?” Shiro’s deep voice resonated through his chest, and Keith nuzzled closer to the welcome vibrations.

“About anything,” Keith said truthfully, “but especially about your arm. I can see it bothering you.”

“Keith…” Shiro was reluctant. Keith understood that, but he knew it was largely on Shiro’s mind and he desperately wanted to help.

“You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to. But you have my confidence, Shiro. You can tell me anything you need to.”

“Keith,” Shiro’s voice was thick with emotion. “I know what this arm did, to everyone, but to you in particular.”

“But that wasn’t you-“

“It was me.”

Keith could not contain his gasp. 

“I thought it wasn’t. When I was in the astral plain, watching over you and the others, I thought he was different from me. But since I’ve been in this body, I have his memories. And I can see that he had mine. He made all of the decisions that I would have made. And he had all the same machinery that I would have had.”

Shiro’s voice was very soft and low as he spoke. It didn’t crack. He spoke like everything was a matter of fact. The tone bruised Keith’s soul, and he cried silent tears against Shiro’s chest, hugging the older man close.

 

“Haggar would have controlled me just the same as she controlled him. His pain, his mistakes, they’re mine too, now. I have the memories of them written on this body that would have been mine if I hadn’t died long before.”

“That still wasn’t you, Shiro,” Keith was adamant, though his voice wavered around his tears. He was not sobbing yet, but his tears streamed quickly down his cheeks. 

Shiro took Keith firmly by the shoulder. Why couldn’t he see that it was true? 

“It was, Keith. It was.” 

“No. It was Haggar.” 

“It was-“ Shiro squeezed in emphasis,

“It was Haggar!”

Keith’s cry startled Wolf from his doze, and the animal stood and sulked from the room, transporting out the door in a flash of blue. 

Keith gripped Shiro’s shirt with a tight fist. He could hear Shiro’s heart pound in his chest.

“Haggar and Zarkon stole you, they ripped you apart and gave you a ticking time-bomb for an arm. Haggar controlled you, and made you betray yourself. And I know that it was her. I know that it was all her. And do you know why?

“Because you, or the one who wasn’t you, didn’t kill me.” Keith could feel Shiro crying over him now. Whether it was because he was reliving some painful memory, or if it was because the truth of Keith’s words had touched him, Keith didn’t know. Shiro’s face pressed into Keith’s hair, dampening the dark strands with heavy tears. “I called you my brother, I told you I love you, and you stopped. You came back to me for a second.”

Keith reached up and took Shiro’s head in his hands, pushing himself up to hold Shiro’s cheek against his own. He whispered now.

“You paused. It wasn’t very long, but it was enough to make all the difference. I know the real you, the one who was underneath everything that witch did to you. You stopped her long enough to save me. 

“There is not one of us here who thinks you betrayed us. If anything, we betrayed you. I should have known something was wrong, that you weren’t you. We shouldn’t have trusted the tech the Galra put in you.”

“’S not your fault…” Shiro whimpered.

“It’s no one’s fault. No one but Haggar and Lotor.” Though he was trying to help Shiro, Keith felt his own words resonate within himself, easing some of his own guilt that had been eating away at him. 

They cried together for a long time, with Shiro’s head pressed against Keith’s cheek, strong fingers smoothing the tears from Shiro’s cheeks. Keith whispered soft words of comfort. It didn’t matter much what he said, it was more his tone that first needled Shiro’s heartache but then slowly eased it. 

“You’re ok, Shiro. They can’t hurt you anymore. Can’t use you anymore. You’re ok. You’re safe. You didn’t hurt me.” When Shiro’s sobs picked up again, Keith knew where to focus his words. “We’re all fine, we’re safe. You didn’t hurt us. You didn’t hurt me. I’m safe. Pidge is safe. Hunk is Safe…” he continued listing until Shiro had completely calmed against him.

“Thank you, Keith.”

Keith smiled, “you have nothing to thank me for.”

“I do. For you being perfect.” Shiro rolled onto his back to look up at Keith in the dim light. His dark hair was a halo in the dusky light, and his blue eye were edged in red as they looked down tenderly at Shiro.

“You, of all people, know that I’m not perfect.”

“Come on, now. Don’t sell yourself short!” Shiro teased. “Who else has crossed the universe several times over just to save this sorry old hunk of junk?” He lifted his busted shoulder to prove his point, flinching as the metal creaked upwards then sank quickly back down to the soft mattress.

Keith had smiled until Shiro’s humour had become self-deprecating, and then his eyes glazed with something akin to fear when the pain of that short movement shone plainly across Shiro’s scarred face.

Keith propped himself up on an elbow and stared down at Shiro. His other hand ghosted along Shiro’s side, stopping to hover just above the metal stub.

“Can I touch you?” 

The breath of a question set Shiro’s heart racing in an unnamed panic, but he swallowed hard and nodded his head. Still Keith’s fingers hovered over him, and they did not move until Shiro finally consented out loud.

Keith touched it lightly with the back of his fingers. He had touched the arm before, many times before, when it was whole. It had been warm then, and it almost hummed with electricity and movement. It had been easy to pretend it wasn’t metal – that it wasn’t Galra metal. Now it was cold and lifeless. A dead thing attached to a healthy body.

“It hurts?” It was only technically a question, because they both knew the answer, but Shiro replied just the same.

“It’s ok now, because it’s on the bed. It’s heavy more than anything. It hurts more lately. At first it was just annoying.”

“I can’t say I’m sorry that I did this to you.” Keith leaned down a pressed a light kiss to the cold metal, barely even skimming it with his lips. Shiro’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of it. “But I’m sorry you’re in pain because of it.”

“It will be gone soon. Pidge has almost everything she needs.”

Cool blue eyes examined Shiro, and he had to turn away from their sharp gaze. “You don’t seem to want it removed.”

“I do…” He was tempted to leave it at the half-truth and be done with it. But he had already opened everything else, and Keith was still there. “I’m not looking forward to the pain. Or the being knocked out for surgery. And…” this pause was longer, and Keith instinctively knew what was coming, “…I feel like I deserve this. Like this is my penance. For everything I did – this body did.” He amended his final statement when he saw Keith open his mouth to argue. Shiro eyes flickered over the scar on Keith’s right cheek, but left again so quickly he barely registered what he had seen. Still, the dark line of skin haunted the edge of his vision. 

Keith said nothing. He stared down at Shiro with beautiful, unblinking eyes, and he thought about what Shiro said. He understood it; he was sure that if he were in Shiro’s shoes he would feel the same way. And there wasn’t much else he could say that he hadn’t already said earlier when they were both in tears. The only thing Keith could think to do, he did.

He lowered his head, slowly, to give Shiro time to realize what he was doing and stop him if necessary, and he kissed the smooth flesh of his shoulder, just before the joint where his metal arm began. 

Shiro hissed at the warm contact and briefly shut his eyes as Keith kissed him again. 

Keith kissed inward along the shoulder to the line of Shiro’s collarbone. Silently, he begged the warm flesh to relieve his pain, pressing each kiss into Shiro’s skin as a kind of balm. He wanted to show Shiro that he did not deserve this pain, he deserved none of the suffering the Galra had wrecked upon his body. 

Keith moved slowly, inexorably, along Shiro’s collarbone, heading for his heart. He wanted to press a kiss over his heart and chase away what pain resided there. He only made it to the base of his throat when Shiro breathed a heady sigh that whispered his name. Keith looked up questioningly to find Shiro’s eyes were dark and shining in the dim light.

“Shiro..?” 

Shiro’s reply was to bury his fingers in the hair at the nape of Keith’s neck and pull the younger man in for a deep, sensual kiss. 

Keith was breathless when it was finished. He found his hands had wound themselves around Shiro’s neck of their own accord. Now Keith’s eyes reflected Shiro’s darkness, and they smiled at each other as if sharing a joke.

Keith leaned down for another kiss, Shiro’s hand on his waist guiding him to lay his chest square atop his own. The embers of heat they had left burning back in the mud fields of the Boslin quadrant fanned quickly back to life, and soon Keith was tilting his head over Shiro’s, tempting out short moans and gasps with his tongue and his teeth. Shiro’s arm on his back was warm and possessive; it slipped beneath the soft fabric of Keith’s shirt to dance a trail of smoke and fire along Keith’s spine.

Keith’s leg slipped between Shiro’s thick thighs and suddenly they were both alight with a blazing heat.

Keith could no longer keep up their steady kisses; he was suddenly wanting for breath.

He gasped for Shiro like the name was a lifeline. Shiro murmured his approval, the hot hand pressing and urging Keith to move against him and stoke their flames. The scarred nose nuzzled softly along Keith’s jaw and pressed at the sensitive pad at the back of his ear before his tongue darted out to play with the dangling lobe.

Keith was lost to his own sensations, oblivious to almost everything except the heat and pressure and friction against his growing need. He felt Shiro’s erection pressing against his hip and had enough presence of mind to angle himself down obligingly over Shiro’s rock-hard length, eliciting a low moan that vibrated through Keith’s ear.

This was the fire he had been afraid to succumb to that day in the mud. His fear seemed silly now, because the fire was nothing to be afraid of. It was beautiful, and delicious. It pushed every rational thought solidly out of Keith’s mind so that he could focus solely on the pleasure and heat and smell of the hot body beneath his. 

“Ngh… Shiro!” Keith cried, fisting Shiro’s shirt and bucking fervently against the crashing hips below him. 

“Keith, I’ve got you, I’ve got you.” Shiro’s voice was strong and reassuring in his ear. “Come here.” He pulled at Keith’s shirt, tapping his shoulder so that Keith raised himself to sit back and lift the shirt from his body. Clumsy, shaking hands helped Shiro out of his own shirt.

Unable to help himself, Keith continued to move his hips in slow rocking motions against Shiro’s legs.

Dimly he realized he was being selfish now. Shiro’s cock was no longer trapped beneath him, but he didn’t quite have the wherewithal to right the wrong. 

He had never done anything like this before, except for a little on his own, which was pretty much exactly like this only it was a cold bed, not a hot body that he would grind against, alone in his garrison quarters. 

Luckily, Shiro still had his presence of mind, and had his fair share of previous experience. 

“Here, Keith,” his hand touched the soft skin of Keith’s inner thigh and the younger man melted at the touch. It took him a second to realize what Shiro wanted him to do, but then he obediently swung his leg over Shiro to fully straddle him. He felt the hard girth of Shiro pressed beneath and against him and his instinct to grind his hips took over.

“Ahh… Keith…” Shiro’s voice was strained, but still in control. 

He danced his fingers along Keith’s chest, pressing and teasing at Keith’s nipples until the man was mewling in short gasping moans. 

Keith leaned into the devilish touch, his own hands sliding and rubbing blindly along Shiro’s torso. 

When Keith was close enough, Shiro hooked his fingers along the back of his neck and pulled him down into a hot and sloppy kiss. 

Keith’s low moans raised their pitch as his bare chest smoothed over Shiro’s. Their heat was trapped between them, and now the full weight of his own body was crashing him against Shiro. 

“Sh-Shiro… I’m go-uh!” Keith groaned then, long and low, his hips stuttering against Shiro’s as he made a mess of his pants and underwear.

Shiro held him with a heavy arm over his back as Keith spent himself out. 

“Shit,” Keith said a few moments later, once his breath started to return to him. “I didn’t mean…” 

Shiro chuckled good naturedly. “It’s fine, Keith. You looked like you were having too much fun to stop you.” 

The image of Keith, eyes clenched tight, moaning helplessly above him, would be imprinted on the back of Shiro’s optic nerve for days. 

“But still…”

“Don’t worry about it. You should go get cleaned up.”

“You shouldn’t-”

“Go Keith.” Clearly, there was still plenty of the old headstrong, impetuous Keith Shiro knew and loved. Two years could only mature a man so much. 

Keith begrudgingly crawled off the bed, but he did not leave the room. Instead, he pulled off his pants and ruined underwear, and used the spoiled cloth to wipe himself clean. 

“Keith…” Shiro’s tone was longsuffering, and Keith echoed it back to him with a steady gaze.

“Shiro…” 

Keith crawled, naked and seductive, back up the bed and straddled Shiro once more. 

He leaned over Shiro and sealed their lips in a possessive kiss. “I’m not going to be the only one who has some fun tonight,” Keith promised in a teasing whisper. He watched the promise sink into Shiro’s eyes, and then he dropped his hips to grind down on Shiro’s hard length once more. 

Shiro was back to full bloom in an instant and he gasped against Keith’s lips.

No longer distracted by his own need, Keith was finally able to focus his attentions on Shiro. He kept the movement of his hips slow and rhythmic while he focused his attention first on kissing Shiro, and then on kissing every available inch of him. 

He nibbled Shiro’s earlobe, thinking particularly of how it felt when Shiro’s teeth had dragged lightly against his own.

He felt Shiro’s sharp gasp against his chest when Keith’s teeth grazed against the hard line of his jaw. Curious, Keith bit softly at a soft inch of skin high on Shiro’s neck. This gasp was sharper, almost more of a hiss.

“So, you like teeth?” He pulled back to enjoy the deep flush that spread of Shiro’s face at the question. 

“N-not particularly,” Shiro said, not meeting Keith’s eyes.

“No?” Keith kissed and nibbled in a line down Shiro’s neck. He bit, just hard enough to pinch, at Shiro’s pulse at the base of his throat. 

Shiro groaned in a kind of agony.

Keith almost had trouble speaking around his smile, “I think you do.” 

He rubbed one hand along Shiro’s arm, pushing it up and over his head and grasping it tightly. He bit again and Shiro groaned again. 

His hips slowed over Shiro while his mouth hunted for vulnerable places. His sharp ears were tuned to Shiro’s sounds: low grunts, soft gasps, and a few higher pitched moans. He was like a beginner learning a new instrument, testing what notes he could make before he eventually learned to make music.

Even still, Shiro was the most beautiful instrument he had ever heard.

“K-Keith!” Shiro gasped when a hot tongue and sharp teeth found their way to his nipple. “More.”

Keith was glad to give what he wanted. He released his tight hold on Shiro’s hand to pinch and tease the other nipple. 

Keith was patient in his exploration of Shiro’s body, his touch was warm and firm, and his mouth and teeth were surprisingly adept. He teased and tormented Shiro until Shiro’s mind was a complete blank. Until there was nothing in the universe except for hands, teeth, and tongue, and two hypnotic blue eyes. 

Then Keith sat back, and suddenly, there was only hips. Hips and a proud smirk.

“Feeling good, Shiro?” The smug little shit.

“Not-nnngh bad-uhhhhh.” Shiro’s feigned nonchalance was unconvincing. Keith’s smirk grew wider. 

He reached for Shiro’s hand and he gave it willingly. 

Keith’s hips were working in a destructive circular motion: Shiro would have given him anything just then. 

Keith touched Shiro’s hand. He pressed it to his face and kissed the palm. He traced his fingers over Shiro’s pulse, and between his fingers, and along the bones on the back. He brought it back to his face. Only this time, he licked, and then bit at the tender stretch of skin at the wrist. 

Shiro writhed and bucked beneath him. Keith giggled as Shiro’s strong legs raised him into the air and dropped him back down. 

He sucked at Shiro’s pulse, then bit it again, dragging his teeth along the skin as he ground his hips down on Shiro.

“Ugh… Keith. Where did you learn all this?”

The proud smirk return, and the young man did not answer. Instead, he licked the length of Shiro’s palm and then pulled one long finger into his mouth. 

“Ugh… god..!” 

Keith sucked hard on Shiro’s finger, his tongue pressing and tasting the salty skin. 

When he pulled the finger from his mouth and shuffled back to straddle Shiro’s knees, Shiro could not contain his excitement. 

“You don’t have to do this,” he said. His tone of voice, however, very clearly said ‘don’t you dare stop.’

The blue eyes shone in reply. 

Shiro held his breath.

Keith removed Shiro’s pants and underwear like he was unwrapping a gift. And then he licked his lips like that gift was the tastiest treat in the universe. 

Shiro panted.

“Please.”

Keith’s eyes grew wide at Shiro’s low request, then they turned dark and determined. Shiro gulped and pre-emptively grabbed a fistful of the bedsheets.

A firm hand held Shiro steady while Keith’s tongue tested and tasted him. Shiro’s cock was already dripping, they had been at this for so long, and he was so keyed up already, he felt like he could blow any moment. 

Keith seemed to understand that, because he licked long and slow. His tongue curled naturally over the sensitive tip and seam, turning Shiro’s breath into short, gasping, pants. 

He held the base in a tight grip, but did not move his hand. He let his spit drip and wash over Shiro while he played with him, before finally opening wide. He slowly took Shiro into his mouth. One hot, devastating inch at a time.

His tongue worked against the hard length, his lips slowly massaging their way down.

Shiro hissed when Keith reflexively swallowed against him, his tongue pressing Shiro against the roof of his mouth. The descent was agony. Shiro’s head lolled on the pillow, and his fist gripped the sheets even tighter, resisting the urge to rest his palm on the back of Keith’s head and forcing him down.

When he got far enough, Keith gagged.

Shiro should have been worried, should have told Keith not to take more than he can handle. Instead, he lifted his hips, pressing himself further into Keith’s mouth to gag on him again. The sound was a goddamned revelation. It poked at something dark and primal lurking in the shadows of Shiro’s mind. 

Keith made no noise of complaint (aside from the crude gagging noise). He just took a deep breath through his nose and pressed himself down farther still. 

He couldn’t take it all, but he took as much as he could before he slowly drew himself back up. He sucked as he rose, letting his lips drag behind him, milking Shiro’s length for all it was worth. 

“K-k-Keith…” Shiro’s gasp was pleading. 

Keith considered Shiro for a moment. He took Shiro again with the same excruciating slowness a few more times, and then, once he had determined he was ready, Keith let loose.

Keith sucked him like it was his last meal. In an instant Shiro’s world tilted and was thrown aside as the slow tortuous licks were traded for a tight grip, a tight mouth, and an uncompromising speed. 

The sounds of Keith’s mouth around Shiro’s hard cock were obscene, but they were a perfect backdrop to Shiro’s string of groans and nonsensical praises as Keith rather quickly took him apart.

“OH.. Keith, you’re so good… so beautiful. God! Oh. Ohh! Ngh.. yes! Yes!” Keith very slightly relaxed his jaw to let his teeth graze lightly against Shiro’s rock-hard cock. “Yes! Just a little… just a little bit more… GOD, yes Keith!” Shiro babbled.

Keith had already worked him into a slow frenzy. Now he was destroying the man from inside out.

He was tight, and hot, and wet, and perfect. Shiro was in tears from the raw pleasure. 

His body tensed and curled around Keith as he raced towards a crushing orgasm. He could feel it building, wild and reckless, and almost terrifying in it’s intensity. 

Shiro could no longer form words. 

“K-Kee… Kee…” Shiro tapped Keith’s head, trying to let him know what was coming so he could jump back.

Keith just shut his eyes and sucked harder.

Shiro thrust forward when he came, gagging Keith so that he was forced to swallow most of Shiro’s seed. 

Keith pulled back in surprise, but when he saw Shiro’s orgasm was still going, he leaned back down to gently suck and then clean him.

Shiro was speechless for a long time after. Keith licked him clean, tucked him back into his boxers, and threw his pants to the floor. Then he lay down and smoothed his body against Shiro’s.

“So, that’s what it tastes like,” Keith said seriously.

That was the end of Shiro. The simple statement, whether meant to be funny or not, struck Shiro as the single funniest thing he could think of. He laughed a rich, belly laugh, and Keith laughed along.

He repositioned his pillow to get comfy next to Shiro’s chest once more.

“HOW are you so good that that?” Shiro asked when he could finally speak.

Keith flushed in deep embarrassment at the question. Well, not at the question, but at the answer.

“I… read it somewhere.”

“Where?”

Keith flushed deeper. He mumbled his reply into the pillow, but Shiro caught the tail end of it: “-gazine.”

Suddenly, Shiro remembered that day he visited Keith in the garrison dorms. One of the few times he decided on the spur-of-the-moment to surprise Keith with a drive on the hoverbike. He had knocked and then entered without waiting for the response (truly, and massively dumb thing to do in a teenager’s room). There was a cry and a flurry of papers, and Keith was shoving a magazine under the covers of his blanket like it had just insulted his family. Shiro remembered thinking at the time (aside from his utter thankfulness that he had not accidentally walked in on Keith with his hands in his pants) that, rather than the typical girlie mags most of the garrison boys had hidden in their dorms, from the brief glimpse he had, it had looked as it Keith was reading a cosmopolitan magazine. 

Cosmo.

Keith had learned to do that from a cosmo magazine.

Somehow, Shiro was intensely proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We made it to chapter 3 and there's only like 2 full days left before season 7!!
> 
> We're not quite out of the woods yet, we've still got a fair bit of angst left (and more sex coming - don't you worry). 
> 
> I hope you like the 3rd chapter!
> 
> I've been absolutely loving your comments! Thanks so much for reading this, guys!


	4. More Sexy Times, Helping Others, and Taking Care of Shiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins go help the refugee planets with their shields. Once they return, Shiro starts prepping for surgery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this whole fic could just be titled "Taking care of Shiro".... it would have probably made more sense than what I actually went with ha ha ha.

Keith awoke with Shiro’s arm wrapped protectively around his waist and Wolf curled against the length of his back. He had kicked the blankets off the bed sometime in the night. Go figure.

They should advertise dogs as ‘complimentary furnaces’ back on Earth.

“Good morning, Starshine.” Shiro’s grey eyes were tender as he looked down at his partner. 

Keith blushed furiously at the pet name, and tucked his head down into Shiro’s chest in the pretense of hiding his embarrassment. In reality, he was hiding how jaw-achingly happy it made him.

“Shut up,” his voice was muffled by Shiro’s chest, but Shiro could tell from the tone that Keith was more pleased than he’d ever admit. 

He hugged Keith closer, burying his lips in Keith’s hair and kissing him twice. The movement traps Keith’s face in Shiro’s pecs. He could barely breathe, but rather than fight it, he   
opened his mouth and bit softly. 

“Ahh… Keith…” There was a hint of hesitation in Shiro’s voice, like he’s not sure it’s the right time. But his pleasure was clear in the breathy undertone of his voice. “Don’t you have a meeting?” 

“Not till after lunch. Besides, this is important.” He licked, sucked, and nibbled along the expansive chest before him.

“Important?” Shiro tried to laugh, but it ended in a gasp as Keith’s lips landed achingly close to a pert nipple. 

“You have to take care of morning wood. It’s good for your health.”

Shiro actually laughed then: short and sweet.

“I don’t have morning wood.”

“No?” 

Keith’s hand was warm and sudden along Shiro’s quickly hardening length. 

“You do now.”

The tongue that slid across Shiro’s nipple sealed his fate. Shiro was putty in Keith’s hand, his hips moving smoothly against his palm of their own volition. He felt himself twitch under Keith’s teasing pressure, like his dick remembered the heat of Keith’s mouth and wanted back in.

Sharp teeth made themselves known against his nipple at the same time Keith wrapped his fingers tight around Shiro’s dick, and Shiro groaned so deep that Keith could feel the vibrations in his own chest. 

“God, Shiro!” 

Keith nuzzled down into the bed, mouth searching for the other nipple. It was hot down there, trapped by Shiro’s now-burning body and the bedsheets; it was hard to breathe. As ever, the heat drove Keith onward, spurring him forward. 

He pressed his hips close to the hard body against him. He started to feel lightheaded from breathing his own recycled air. Or maybe it was from all of his blood surging to more important extremities. 

Shiro’s hand pressed heavily against Keith’s back, urging him closer. He breathed in Keith’s hair. He dragged his hand lower, remembering as he did that Keith had slept naked in his arm.

He felt a thrill run through him as his hand passed, uninterrupted, along Keith’s spine and over the curve of his ass. Shiro gripped him tightly in hand, massaging and helping his hips crush them together. 

Keith’s hot fingers released Shiro to quickly free him from his boxers: the only thing he had put back on before passing out in Keith’s arms the night before. 

Strong fingers wrapped around both dicks in one, and moved smoothly, tightly, up and down. 

“Shit…” Shiro hissed in ecstasy. 

Keith was delighted he had made Shiro curse. He began to alternate licks and bites, getting a little sloppy as he concentrated on working his hand between the tight confines of their bodies.

When one thick, rough finger slipped tentatively between his ass cheeks, Keith froze. Not for long, but long enough that it knocked Shiro off his rhythm. 

“Is this ok?” Shiro whispered thickly. 

“God yes.” 

Keith’s arm moved suddenly faster and Shiro had to grit his teeth. He snorted an ugly noise into Keith’s hair. It took him a moment to adjust to this new pace before he continued his tentative touch on Keith’s backside.

He didn’t press, or try to enter him. Even through the thick fog of desire Shiro knew it was too soon for that. But he tested the area. Touching lightly where it was sensitive enough for a light touch to be sufficient, and circling the tight asshole in a slow movement.

“Keith… you’re so good to me…” His voice was hushed. Keith began to tremble against him. 

He bit Shiro harder than he meant to, but the noise Shiro made in response told him that it was far from unpleasant. 

“You’re so good… look at you… god!” 

Keith whined in the back of his throat. Shiro’s voice was tipping him over fast. 

He was hot. So hot. And the pressure was building inside him. His arm began to ache from the repeated motion, but that just made him grip tighter, move faster. 

He had to tilt his head and free himself, gulping at the fresh air. Still, Shiro’s chest was too tantalizing in front of him. 

He bit the hard muscle of Shiro’s pec again, this time hard enough to leave a line of red on the skin. 

“God, Keith. Yes…” 

Shiro circled him a little more forcefully and Keith whimpered again. He licked at his bite mark. 

“Sh-Shiro… I’m – I –” Keith grew suddenly shy. 

“Tell me what you want.” It wasn’t a command. Still it was impossible to ignore.

“I want you to cum with me, Shiro.”

Shiro’s response was a strangled noise and a kiss to the top of his head. 

They were both close. Their movements were becoming stilted and impatient as they chased down bliss. 

Shiro came first, in an explosion that startled Keith, and splattered both of them with hot cum. His whole body flexed and pressed against Keith, groaning loudly. His finger briefly lost all gentleness, and rubbed the sensitive skin hard and fast.

Keith came a few moments later, his mouth open and drooling against Shiro’s chest. 

Behind them, Wolf shifted on the bed, rearranging himself as if nothing had been going on behind him. They had both forgotten he was there, and they laughed weakly when they remembered. 

Keith leaned back so that Shiro could loom over him, and they looked sweetly on each other’s flushed skin and glowing expressions.

Then Keith lifted his hand and licked it clean, and Shiro had to roll onto his back to prevent himself from pushing Keith down and taking him there.

“What?” Keith asked defensively.

Shiro laughed, but didn’t answer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rh’al gave them a small convoy loaded with all the parts Hunk thought they would need for the shields and a gravity tunnel that arched over the two nearest planets to guide them safely to the next inhabited one.

There was room to move in this tunnel, at least. Their few days of shopping and negotiation earned them enough trust to allow them some wiggle room. But the curving arch of the tunnel still had everyone on edge. They were all less than thrilled to be back in the lions so soon, less so to be travelling a stressful route. 

The comm links were open as they flew, and everyone grumbled into them with steadily sinking spirits. Pidge was particularly on cranky, having stayed up late working on a pseudo-surgical plan for Shiro’s arm, and her sarcasm was reaching critical levels.

“Oh, sure, I would just love to take a leisurely flight through your death tunnel. And yeah, let’s totally curve the trajectory, so that any over- or under-estimation of the flight path sends us spiraling into the nearest sun. Beautiful. It’s just what I wanted first thing in the morning. Except, with 7 suns, I guess it’s never morning…”

Pidge’s steady complaints were backdropped by Hunk, who punctuated each of her statements with nervous noises and several “oh no, oh no, no, nos.”

Keith’s voice betrayed none of his exasperation when he spoke. “Pidge, please, now is not really the time. Have you run all the specs on converting the radiation shields to protect against an attack?”

“Yes.” Despite Keith’s even tone, Pidge responded with an attitude as if he had scolded her.

“And it’s looking good?”

“Well…” her pause was loaded. “It’s going to take more work than I thought to re-write that coding so that Hunk’s new parts with work with their system. It’s pretty old.”

“Did you run them through Triple DES encryption?” Hunk asked; his voice losing some of it’s panicked edge.

Pidge snorted. “Why would I do that? It’s ancient!”

“That’s what I mean. If their tech is old, maybe ours should be too.”

They discussed the matter at length, quickly delving into the kind of deep-science talk that only Hunk and Pidge understood. It was soothing to listen to them argue over unfathomable technology, it was a welcome distraction. It helped calm all of the paladins to listen to them happily spout scientific nonsense as they flew. 

Keith leaned back in his chair. He could pilot the tunnel easily, with or without Pidge’s sarcastic commentary, but he was relieved that he had been able to redirect Pidge before she sent Hunk into a nervous fit. 

He didn’t hear Shiro’s approach, but still he was unsurprised when the heavy hand touched down on his shoulder with a light squeeze. Keith glanced up, and Shiro’s eyes told him everything he needed to know. Shiro was proud of him for diffusing the situation smoothly.

They were several quintents altering the first refugee planet’s defenses, and several more on the second. Pidge and Hunk worked double-time trying to get things ready, while Keith, Allura, and Lance toured the smaller planets, spreading the word and recruiting those who were willing. Shiro divided his time between lying on his back in the nest they built in the black lion, actively trying not to poke and prod at his metal shoulder; and lying on his back on a rickety cot while Coran and Krolia actively poked and prodded his metal shoulder with all sorts of terrifying tools. 

They took off as much as they dared before they would have to consider surgery. Although the arm was very much dead, it was still linked to the nerves of his body, and more than once Shiro had shouted to stop one of them and their cruel-looking tools before the pain overtook him. 

Wolf liked to lay with him as much as possible these days. Shiro wasn’t sure whether it was because he enjoyed Shiro’s company or if it was because Keith had left some lasting orders for the wolf to take care of Shiro. 

What was really surprising was that Krolia had come, on three separate occasions, to lie in the blankets on the other side of their nest, and speak with him. It was under the pretense of wanting to learn more about Keith, share stories of their time with him. Krolia searched for information on who Keith was, and in return she offered information on who he had become with her. But underneath the pretense, Krolia seemed also to be sussing out Shiro: who he was, what he had been through, what he meant to her son, and more importantly what her son meant to him. 

Shiro had no idea what her verdict was or would be. Although she shared a great deal of her facial expressions in common with her son, she was hard to read when she wanted to be. 

No matter the final verdict, Shiro was thankful for the chats and he told her in so many words. Not just for her company, which was a comfort while he was increasingly bedridden, but for letting him see her son through her eyes. It was illuminating. 

The upgrades went faster on the second refugee planet, as did the touring, and it was only a few quintents before they were headed back to the main planet. 

Shiro lay in the back, in the dark, the entire trip back. Wolf lay at his side, his head laid across his chest the way Keith liked to.

Shiro didn’t move when they landed. Neither did the wolf, which meant Keith would be winding his way through the boxes and crates any moment. 

Sure enough, Keith shuffled through the boxes a few minutes later and took a seat against a large crate, looking solemn. 

“What is it?” Shiro’s patented patience had been wrung dry, lying useless on his back for quintents on end. He wasn’t angry, he didn’t snap, but he was in no mood to sit and wait in silence while Keith built the courage to say whatever was on his mind.

Keith grimaced, either because of Shiro’s short tone or because of what he was about to say. Possibly both.

“I think we need to delay leaving for a little longer.”

Shiro half-raised, curling himself painfully over the wrecked of arm that was now more twisted metal and exposed wire than it ever had been. “What?”

“I haven’t talked to Allura yet, but I’m going to ask her to negotiate with Rh’al again. Shiro, you need surgery, and it can’t wait for Earth. It can’t wait for Olkarion. I’m not sure it can wait until we can get into a more centralized part of the galaxy.”

“Keith…” Shiro started, but Keith held a hand up, wanting to finish before he let Shiro respond.

“They have good medical staff here. And we saw plenty of humanoids among the refugees, so they’ll know what to do with you. You don’t have to if you’re not ready. No one will force you, but…” He let the words hang between them. His hand dropped down to hang over his knees.

He understood Keith’s hesitance to force him into surgery so soon. As much as he felt he should want it off as soon as possible, the actual idea of it terrified him. He wasn’t sure if it was remnants of the trauma from having the arm implanted that filled him with fear, or if it was, as he had said before, part of his penance. 

“Keith, I think you’re right,” Shiro said simply. “I can’t last like this much longer. I’m not made to lie in a bed all day.”

“Yeah, and what a waste of muscles.”

Shiro laughed at the attempt of humour, appreciating it more for the attempt than because he found it genuinely funny.

“Can you move? Let me help you up.”

Keith escorted Shiro back to his room in their ambassador suite, then left him to go have a discussion with Allura and the rest of the team. 

Unsurprisingly, the verdict was unanimous to stay and help Shiro as best they could. President Rh’al readily agreed as well, scheduling rush appointments with various medical specialists and organizing a recruitment tour of the capital planet. 

The tour was offered as an additional favour, a thank you for their help on the smaller planets, but Keith was sorely tempted not to accept. Not that he didn’t want to spread the word – it was, after all, Voltron’s duty to spread hope throughout the universe, that was right there in the job description. But it meant leaving Shiro again, and just when he needed Keith most.

“You sure you’re ok?” Keith asked for the thousandth time. “Mom’s going to take you to the medical bay every day. And Wolf’s going to be here with you. And…”

“Keith, it’s just tests. They’re not taking the arm out of me yet. I’ll be fine.” 

Shiro was doing his best not to rankle at being treated like an invalid. He knew that Keith meant well. He knew that Keith knew he could handle himself. And he knew that Keith was more upset over leaving for another 4 quintents than he was worried that Shiro would suddenly combust in the doctor’s chair. 

Shiro sat on his bed, surrounded by pillows that propped up his arm enough to give him the illusion of relief. 

“I’ll be fine,” he said again, holding Keith’s gaze with his own.

Keith looked down to where Shiro was kneading the muscle of his thigh. He couldn’t touch his shoulder any longer, but couldn’t do nothing, so he had taken to rubbing his thigh and pretending it helped the stiff ache of his shoulder.

“Hey…” Keith dropped the pants he was folding into his pack (somehow, no one had noticed that Keith had moved directly into Shiro’s room on their return to the capital planet). He crawled onto the bed and carefully straddled over his boyfriend. “I know you’ll be fine,” he whispered in a soft voice. The kind of voice that only Shiro would ever hear.

He brought his hand to gently cup the twisted metal at Shiro’s side. He didn’t lift it, but he held it with just enough pressure to take some of the weight onto himself.  
Shiro sighed, his hand moving to touch Keith’s back. 

“You’re Takashi Shirogane. You’ve beaten all the odds. You’ve faced down the worst enemies in this universe and walked away. Death didn’t stop you. Nothing will ever stop you. Certainly not this twisted arm.”

Shiro’s hand was a fist against Keith’s back now. 

Keith continued, “I know that. But it doesn’t mean you need to do this alone. Mom’s here, Wolf’s here. And I will be here before you go for surgery.”

“You promise?” 

Keith smiled when he pulled back and saw the tears shining like jewels in Shiro’s eyes.

Keith pressed his lips against Shiro’s in promise. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shiro hadn’t expected Krolia’s company to be so welcome – or so necessary – but it was both. He found her calm countenance reassuring. It was almost as if Keith himself were there, though not quite. Unlike Keith, she was not worried for him. She was concerned, yes. She very clearly wanted him to get better as soon as possible, but she did not worry. 

She had committed to bringing him to his examinations, and to picking him back up, but she was kind enough to stay in between. They filled their time between tests and doctors’ meetings with small talk and comfortable silence. More than once, when Shiro felt the cold squeeze of panic grip his lungs so that his breath turned quick and shallow, Krolia had placed a steady hand on his good shoulder until he could breathe normally again. 

They had three quintents of tests while the doctor’s conferred. Android specialists were brought in from across the globe. They wanted to have the remaining arm off immediately, otherwise they feared for more permanent damage. They scheduled the surgery for the next quintent.

“Can we do it later in the day?” Shiro asked hollowly. His heart was hammering. It had been hammering since the doctor, a nice reptilian woman who looked nearly human except for the green tinge to her skin, had sat down and said “it has to be tomorrow.”

“Why does the time matter?”

“Keith comes back tomorrow,” he hoped that explained things well enough. Because that was the only thought Shiro could manage right now. The surgery was tomorrow. Keith returned tomorrow. Keith promised to be here for the surgery. So the surgery had to be after Keith returned. 

The doctor could clearly see that Shiro was overwhelmed, and she looked to Krolia for help.

“Keith comes back tomorrow,” Krolia repeated unhelpfully. “He should be back by midday. Surely we can postpone the surgery until the evening?”

The doctor wavered. “Well, I had hoped to start early…”

Shiro took several long, deep, calming, audible breaths. The doctor’s eyes flicked to him, wavering more.

“I believe your president has requested we give this man anything he needs,” Krolia urged with a sudden diplomacy.

The doctor caved. 

“I will schedule for an evening surgery.” She gave Krolia the pre-surgery protocol – Shiro clearly was not listening – and once she finished she said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I had best head home as I have a long night tomorrow, apparently.”

Krolia sniffed and said goodbye. She shuffled Shiro from the room and did not say a word about Keith the entire way back to their suite. 

Shiro was quiet for the rest of the day. He didn’t think he spoke at all until late that night, when he whispered “he’ll be home soon,” into the top of Wolf’s head and scratched behind his ears.

The next day, Shiro looked no different than always. His smile did its best to cover the dull pain in the back of his eyes, but it seemed no worse than any other day.

He was still quiet, but then he had never been terribly verbose. His movements were a tad mechanical, he thought, but he hardly moved from the bed, so that wasn’t likely to give him away. Objectively, he knew he was panicking, but all he felt was numb. Nothing sharp or striking touched him, not even the ache in his arm. Everything was cool and distant and unreal.

He spent the day reading from the halo-pad Pidge had left him and flashing his eyes to the door every 30 dobashes. Morning came and went and Keith was not back yet. He told himself that was to be expected, they didn’t expect him till midday. 

After lunch, his stomach began to grumble and yearn for food, or even just some water, but he was not allowed to eat until his surgery. And still, Keith was not back.

Almost suppertime, and Krolia came to help him to the medical bay, but still Keith was nowhere to be seen. 

Shiro swallowed the edge of panic brought on by the sight of Krolia’s downcast face. 

Where was Keith? He wanted to ask, but he could not find the words. 

To speak would be to let the disappointment wrap around him, and then the panic would win.

But that wasn’t fair.

Keith had promised him. And Keith never once reneged on a promise. Not once. 

Shiro walked calmly to the medical bay, and followed their instructions with that placid smile that did not reach his eyes. 

They prepped him and sat him in a dark waiting room. Dark to try and calm him: his heart rate was up, and they wanted it down before they started. 

Of course it was up. There was less than half a varga to go, and where was Keith?

Shiro couldn’t understand it. Keith had never, not once, let him down. 

Not once.

Never.

10 dobashes to go and Shiro heard something that sounded like his name out in the hall. 

He looked up and waited. 

It seemed to take forever, but finally the door swung slowly open, and Keith stepped into the dark room. 

“Keith!” Shiro’s voice broke. Suddenly all of the emotions of the day felt vibrant where once they had been dull. 

Keith’s strong arms were around him in 2 ticks. He whispered an apology into Shiro’s hair, another onto his cheek, and another on his lips. 

“I rushed as fast as I could. We were stopped by some of the Galra. It wasn’t a big fight, but it slowed us down. I think I nearly broke Hunk’s arm getting out of the shuttle back. I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.”

Shiro shook his head. “I knew you’d be here. You promised.”

Never. Not once, had Keith ever let him down.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I asked them to give us a few minutes. They need your heart rate to lower.”

“Keith…”

“Shhh… let me take care of you.”

Keith’s lips brushed lightly against the ragged metal of Shiro’s twisted arm. 

It was a symbolic gesture, but Shiro felt it all the way to his core. He buried his face deeper into his hand.

Shiro felt exhausted, but he hadn’t done anything in days. Just lain around his plush bedroom, stewing in silent worry.

He shouldn’t be surprised; emotional exhaustion had always been worse than physical exhaustion. But still, he felt both too keenly these days. 

Keith’s fingers dusted along Shiro’s shoulders and up along the back of his neck, easing tension with the touch. 

He kissed the arm again, then he lined slow, purposeful kisses along the sore stretch of skin where metal met flesh. 

“Shiro, I…” Keith’s breath was cool along the tightly knotted ridge of his shoulder, “am so grateful that you are here. That you could come back to me.”

Keith moved to kneel on the floor between Shiro’s knees. His hands found Shiro’s cheek and the back of his head, and they rested there comfortingly. 

He nudged Shiro’s hand away and pressed their foreheads together..

Their breaths mingled; their faces were so close, sharing the same air. Keith’s eyes were shut tight, like he was trying to give Shiro his own peace of mind.

They did not speak. 

Slowly, Shiro allowed himself to be comforted. 

Keith’s thumb trailed a small circle of warmth at the base of his skull, dispelling his body’s tension. The touched helped the tension in his mind, as well. 

Shiro felt his chest compress in a sob, heard it shake through the small dark room, before he even realized he was crying.

He felt like he was always crying lately. But he didn’t even try to stop himself. 

Each tear washed through him and cleansed him bit by bit. Someday he would be clean of his doubts, his fears, and his guilt. 

And until then, he had Keith to help hold him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading!
> 
> We're almost done!! 1 chapter left, and then a bonus that's coming on Friday when everyone's too busy watching season 7 to read a fanfic. But it'll still be there for you to help ease the emotional wreckage of whatever's coming.
> 
> Also, I really like the Shiro and Krolia dynamic. I get the feel she'd know a lot about Shiro already from sharing Keith's memories, and like she'd just be like "you're my son now too."


	5. Post-Surgery, Some Good Ol' Romance, and Some Boning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro wakes up from surgery, and then there's some romance and some sex. You'll love it.

Shiro was awake for several minutes without opening his eyes. He was groggy from his anesthetic, and knew instinctively that opening his eye would invite a headache. 

He felt dimly that he should be tense and on edge, but he couldn’t quite remember why. As the reason slowly dawned on him, he took mental stock. How was he?

His mind seemed to be working, albeit slowly. His heartrate sounded steady and his breathing was even. He had no immediate pain, and he – 

Wait, no, that couldn’t be right. No pain? He’d had constant pain for days. 

He shifted in his bed. He remembered Keith’s hands on his arm, his lips on his shoulders. He remembered being put into a glowing chamber, like a healing pod only different, and asking if he should be counting backwards from ten. “You can if you like,” the doctor had been very indifferent, but Shiro had done it anyway.

His surgery.

The metal arm should be gone. He didn’t feel the pain of it anymore, but then, his whole body felt light and bubbly still.

He lifted his hand to inspect the arm with fingers rather than eyes, but a firm hang shot out and stopped his reach. 

“They said not to touch it yet,” Keith’s voice was low and it seemed to vibrate the air and tickle Shiro. He giggled.

“Is he high?” Hunk’s tone was skeptical, and it made Shiro laugh again.

“He’s definitely high.” It was Pidge this time. Those two were hilarious.

Keith grunted, and a vision of his scowl swam behind Shiro’s eyes. He heard shuffling from people leaving the room, but still he didn’t open to watch them leave.

Shiro laughed to himself, laughing for the sake of laughing. 

Maybe he was high.

“You’re a goof,” Keith’s head ran swiftly through his hair, and then light lips descended on his forehead. 

Shiro finally looked up and met Keith’s eyes. 

“You’re beautiful,” Shiro said with the unabashed honesty of the recently drugged. Keith’s blush was also beautiful, and he meant to tell him that, but he was distracted by the emptiness at his side.

He looked finally, might as well now that his eyes are open. There was a void where the metal arm had been, and not much else to see. His shoulder was lined in silver at the edge, and no matter how he wiggled his shoulder there was no way for him to get a good look at it.

“Stop,” Keith implored. “they put a casing on it, for when Pidge makes you a new arm. To make it easier.” He said it with a bated breath, like he expected Shiro to react strongly to the news. Shiro had no strong opinions on the matter, not at the moment. “How are you feeling?”

Strong fingers worked through his hair again, and Shiro closed his eyes, wishing he were a cat so he could purr. He told Keith so, which made him laugh. Shiro wanted to make Keith laugh more. It was a breathtaking sound.

“Purr,” he said, angling his head towards Keith’s hand. 

“I take it this means you’re feeling all right?”

“I feel like I’m full of helium.”

“No pain?”

“None pain,” he said sincerely. It was heavenly. 

He could sit like this, with Keith petting him, with no pain in his body, and no thoughts in his mind, forever. 

The doctor checked on him while he was still quite high, and then again when he was significantly less loopy. The last time she came, Shiro was sober and the ache in his shoulder was back. 

“That’s normal. You’ll be sore for the next few days. And I expect your balance will be off. You’re completely healed, but I wouldn’t go picking at it just yet. Try not to touch it until after the pain is good and gone.”

“How long?” Keith asked.

“It should only be a few quintents. Two, maybe three.”

“And when can he, uh… do strenuous activity?” 

The doctor’s gaze ghosted over Keith and Shiro’s twin blushes with clinical indifference. “I’d give it a few more quintents after the pain is fully gone.” She eyed Keith’s deepening blush, “A full 5 quintents, at least,” she warned. 

Keith nodded. After she had gone, they laughed loudly.

They stayed in the Serpentine Belt for another two quintents while Shiro rested. 

The doctor hadn’t been kidding about the loss of balance. When the arm had been whole, and working, it had compensated for its own weight, but still it had felt to Shiro as if it weighed the same as his other arm. Weighed the same in the sense that Shiro had never once thought of either arm as having weight. They swung at his sides when he walked, they lifted the things he needed lifted, they did the tasks he wanted them to do. They didn’t have weight in any sense other than the whole of his body has weight. 

When the arm was broken, it was heavy, but he had compensated for its bulk, tensing his body to accommodate the lifeless metal. And when it was too much, he laid down and let his pillows carry the weight.

Now, the lack of weight was hard to come to grips with. He tilted left from the weight of his remaining arm, the swing of which seemed always to be too much or too little as he walked, spinning him. It was hard to catch himself. 

The others had clearly noticed. He couldn’t move without someone appearing, unasked, at his side to catch him. 

It was at once deeply gratifying and mortifying. He loved his friends for their caring and compassion, and he hated himself for needing it.

Maybe hated was a strong word. Maybe he didn’t hate himself, not quite. Not anymore. But it was closer than any other word he could think of, and he did his best not to think about it too much.

Despite the love he felt emanating from Coran, Krolia, and the paladins, he could sense their haste to be on their way. Their shared looks and frequent check-ins on his status were not subtle. Coran and Allura were anxious to reach Earth and start plans on a new Castle Lions, and the paladins were desperate for home. The only ones without any rush were Krolia and Wolf, and Shiro appreciated their concern all the more for it. 

The left early on the third quintent after the surgery. Krolia had helped Shiro into the black lion, and Wolf had snuggled at his side while they flew the narrow gravity tunnel out to open space. 

Once they were in free of all 7 suns, and headed on a course that would, eventually, lead to Earth, a sense of relief flooded all 5 lion ships. 

Discussion immediately picked up, almost as if there had been no lengthy detour, as to what they would eat when they landed on Earth, who they would see, what they would do. Hunk and Lance dominated the comms, with minor input from Shiro and Keith, and some curious questions from Allura.

Pidge settled into designing Shiro’s new arm, and interrupted them now and again to go over some specifics.

“I’ve been thinking about the weight of the arm, Shiro,” she said, interrupting Lance’s lengthy explanation of the Die Hard franchise to Allura (who was being abnormally patient with the enthusiastic though jumbled re-telling). “I don’t think we can recreate the way it supported its own weight without resorting to Galra tech, but I have a few ideas… How do you feel about a detached arm?”

“A detachable arm?” Shiro thought it over. He would likely be used to the lightness on his right side by the time they had a working arm ready. Beyond that, the idea of a non-permanent arm – one that could easily be removed and therefore could not be used to control him the way the old one had – sounded like a blessing. “I love it.” He made sure his tone was encouraging, because he truly did love it.

“Hmm… detached, detachable… I’ll look into it…” she replied cryptically, but said no more. 

Two weeks later, well, really 14 quintents later, and Shiro was finally walking easily. It helped that the planet they had landed on had a fractionally increased gravitational pull than they were accustomed to. The additional pull to the ground helped steady Shiro, and he moved around freely. He stood taller than he had in a long time.

He jumped a few times, out of sight of the others, just to feel the solidity of the ground under his feet. Two weeks flying in the lion was a lot. Everyone thought so. 

Which is why, when they found this lushly primitive planet, full of untamed rivers and jungle, they unanimously agreed to land for the night. 

Well, Pidge had pointed it out, and Hunk mused that it would feel wonderful to feel solid ground beneath him again, and Lance begged until everyone then agreed it was in their best interest to land. The three amigos strike again.

Shiro was scouting for clean water. His body was strapped with water containers, and though he felt a little patronized by the chore (the lions would all have to re-stock their water supplies by “drinking” from whatever pond he found, so the jugs were wholly unnecessary) he was glad to have a task. 

He was especially glad when he crawled over a sharp rise and found a placid lake.

Shiro worked quickly to fill his containers. He memorized the path on his way back. That evening, as the sun was just starting to set, he took Keith secretly by the hand and pulled him down that self-same path.

“Where are we going, Shiro?”

“You’ll see,” Shiro smiled over his shoulder. He felt cryptic and romantic, and he held Keith’s hand tight in his own. The weight was comforting, it made him feel solid. He never felt more real, or whole, than when he was with Keith. “It’s just over here,” he was excited, he could feel it running through his body like electricity. 

He released Keith’s hand to crawl up the steep bank that edged the lake. He laughed when Keith’s hands gripped fully on his behind, pushing him teasingly up the incline. 

At the top, Shiro reached back for Keith. Not that the man needed the help, but because Shiro wanted to help him – and because he wanted his hand on Keith’s when he saw this sight.

The bank opened over a sprawling landscape. Fields of soft, pale purple-green grass rolled out at their feet down to the bank of the calm lake. The lake was crystal-clear blue, with tinges of orange and red along the far side where it reflected the setting sun. Large, thick trees lined the far side of the lake, and even from this distance they could see dark red flowers, or perhaps fruit, that hung in heavy bundles from the branches. Hidden animals filled the air with tuneless music, and a sweet smell drifted across the lake from the trees. 

Shiro swept his eyes across the view before turning to see Keith’s expression. 

Keith’s blue eyes were drinking in the scene hungrily. It was so Earth-like, but not an Earth that Keith had ever known. He had only known dessert: empty spaces and twisted rock formations. This was an Eden. 

He moved so that Shiro’s hand was held tight between both of his own, glad Shiro was here beside him to make a beautiful moment meaningful. 

“Come on,” Shiro tugged gently and led Keith down to sit on the soft grass along a curved rise. “I want to watch the sun set with you.”

If Keith thought it was too corny or too romantic, he didn’t show it. 

Shiro offered his canteen of water, and Keith took it but set it down beside him absently. His eyes did not stop their slow scan of the area. 

He looked like he was trying to burn the image into his brain. The thought of that made Shiro smile.

“I’m glad you like it,” he pressed forward for a fleeting kiss, then settled himself so that he leaned back against Keith’s chest.

Keith’s strong arms wrapped around his shoulders and held him tight. He tucked his nose into Shiro’s soft hair and breathed deep. Shiro matched his breath to Keith’s, and they sat in silent bliss while the sky slowly turned orange, then red, and then a deep purple that rode out the last moments of the day. 

The air lost some of its warmth as the sky turned to night, but it was not so cool that they grew chilled.

“Keith,” Shiro breathed softly into the night air. 

“Shiro,” Keith’s reply floated back on a sigh that ruffled Shiro’s soft hair.

Shiro’s mind wandered. His hand held Keith’s arm, pressing it close to his chest. He breathed with the slow rise and fall of the chest behind him. 

They always said each others’ name when speaking to each other. It was something Pidge had mentioned long ago, saying it was funny how they never said ‘you’ but always said each others name. Shiro had laughed it off at the time, but he knew it was true. He did it so much, Keith’s name seemed always to be just on the edge of his lips.

It wasn’t a romantic gesture – or maybe it was, but Shiro didn’t classify it that way. 

They had just both been on their own for so long. They both knew first hand the full depths of loneliness that could haunt a person. They had both known a time when no one had said their names; Keith knew it longer and more intimately than Shiro.

Every time Shiro said Keith’s name, it was an acknowledgment of him as a person. As a full-fledged, flesh and blood, thinking, feeling person. Grounding him to himself. 

It was a sign of respect, of attention, of caring, and, in a way, of love. This wasn’t the swift, heart-pounding romantic love that was currently threatening to drown Shiro in its intensity. This was a long-lasting, deep-seated platonic love for a man that Shiro could not live without, had been unable to live without since the first time he had lifted his face and smiled up at Shiro. Which, admittedly, had been several months into their friendship. 

But Shiro loved Keith in many different ways, some that combatted deep within him for supremacy, some that had suffused his entire being and soared out of him on every breath. 

And the love behind the name was old and firmly rooted within Shiro. 

He squeezed Keith’s arm momentarily closer and felt his nose bury deeper into his hair. He said his name again, softly, like a prayer. 

This time, Keith responded with a soft, low noise of contentment from deep in the back of his throat. And Shiro could hear the soft smile on his lips.

Slowly, Shiro turned himself to face Keith. He had been thinking a lot the last few weeks, as he healed and learned how to move again. 

He leaned towards Keith, who mirrored him instinctively so that their faces were inches apart. Shiro lifted his hand and touched a light finger to the side of Keith’s chin.

“Keith, I – ” he stopped, interrupted. He was always interrupted in moments like these.

This time he was interrupted by a pale glow at the edge of his vision.

He blinked down and Keith did the same. They looked around in wonder as the pale grass around them lit in a faint violet glow that stretched the length of the meadow. He turned and saw the lights reflected on the edge of the lake, the stars shining in the dark centre of the water like they were trapped below the surface.

“It’s beautiful,” Keith said it so softly Shiro wasn’t sure he realized he had spoken at all. 

“You’re beautiful,” Shiro said, brushing a soft kiss over Keith’s left cheek while his thumb softly drew along his jaw.

Keith’s eye’s captured Shiro’s, glinting a violet of their own in the soft glow-light.

The emotion Shiro felt for this man could power a galaxy indefinitely. 

He kissed Keith’s lips, then tried again.

“Keith, I want to thank you. You’ve given me so much, you’ve given me everything I’ve ever needed, without question.”

Keith tried to speak, to dispel Shiro’s praise, but Shiro hushed him with a light kiss. 

“Shhh… You deserve thanks. You deserve more, more than I can give in this lifetime. But I’m going to do my best.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said before – that it wasn’t me who did those terrible things. I’ve been thinking about it a lot.” He brushed back a stray lock of hair, tucking it away, soothing the welling emotions behind the dark eyes. “I hate what I’ve done to everyone, and what I’ve done to you…” he trailed off. Words couldn’t do justice to the way he felt knowing how badly he hurt Keith. “But I think I’m ready to try and forgive myself.”

Keith’s breath hitched in his throat at that. His eyes grew wide with hope, and they danced between Shiro’s, checking for honesty. 

“I feel, heh, like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulder,” Keith smiled at that, “that metal arm was my penance, but now that it’s gone I feel free of it. Knowing that it can’t be used to manipulate me anymore – never again – it helped me realize that you were right. That wasn’t me.”

Shiro’s gaze shifted to the deep scar along Keith’s right cheek, and his hand followed after. 

Keith held his breath: Shiro had hardly looked at the scar, let alone touched it. 

“I’m sorry for what I did. I’m deeply sorry, Keith. But…” The back of two fingers touched softly against Keith’s cheek and drew down, following the lines of the scar. “…I see now: that doesn’t change who I am.” 

Shiro caught one of Keith’s tears as they fell. 

“Oh,” Keith laughed as he cried, his own hands reaching up to wipe the tears from Shiro’s cheeks. 

Their kiss was emotional and wet from their damp cheeks. But it was perfect. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was well into the night, everyone was sound asleep in their tents, when Keith and Shiro slipped into the black lion. 

Keith held Shiro in a tight hold when they entered the small sanctuary of their nest. He tipped himself backwards into the blankets, laughing and pulling Shiro down on top of him, his lithe warrior’s body protecting them from the slow fall. Shiro landed with a grunt against the soft blankets and hard lines of Keith’s body. 

He kissed blindly, feeling the shape and movement of Keith’s body with his lips. He settled his weight down on the younger man; he could not lift himself one-handed because his one hand was already occupied around the curve of Keith’s neck. Keith welcomed the weight with a hungry sigh, his hips moving in a slow, hard rhythm that set both their hearts racing.

“Keith…” Shiro nipped at the salty skin. 

Keith groaned and pulled at Shiro’s clothes, clawing along his lower back as he passed. 

“God…” Shiro pushed himself up to sit on his heels while Keith pulled off Shiro’s shirt and then his own. 

Getting naked was a slow and frustrating process, awkward on a good day, but a struggle onehanded and in the dark. Shiro kicked ineffectively at his pants until Keith came to rescue him.

Warm, rough hands smoothed down the lines of Shiro’s legs, then teased back up along his thighs. He cupped Shiro gently and guided him by his hard length back down into the nest.

Keith lay them both on their sides, Shiro was on his right side to free his left arm. They slotted their bodies together as tight as they could, Shiro’s leg slipping over Keith’s to lock them together. 

Their erections slotted against one another as they rocked together, hard. For a while that was all that either of them could feel. 

But as the immediate rush of lust petered off they began to touch and taste each other once more. 

Keith’s teeth chewed delicately along Shiro’s shoulder and neck, gripping him with nails to illicit long groans and sharp gasps. Shiro was more tender, petting Keith in long soft strokes along his body. He touched spots that Keith had never before thought of as sensual, and revelled in the new interpretation of his own body.

Keith offered his wrist to Shiro, and the man ran an obliging tongue across the heated skin. 

They lost themselves in each other’s pleasure, grinding a steady rhythm against each other that was building into a slow release.

Shiro hitched his leg higher, forcing them even closer and Keith hissed. He reached around and down, gliding over the smooth curves of Keith’s backside to press gently between the cheeks, thinking to repeat the pleasures of their previous tussle. 

“Sh-Shiro…” Keith’s tone stopped Shiro’s hand short.

“What is it?” He placed a crooked kiss along the side of Keith’s mouth.

“I want you. Tonight.”

Shiro pulled back, looking Keith in his glazed and distant eyes to ensure they meant the same thing.

“Keith, are you sure?” 

Keith attempted to kiss the hesitancy out of Shiro’s voice, licking deep into his mouth and letting his hips resume their slow grind.

“You can do it, right? I want it Shiro. I promise. I want you in me.”

Those sweet whispered words were all Shire needed.

“I can do it,” he promised. “But we have to go slow.” He looked almost stern as he held Keith’s gaze. 

Keith nodded, his body thrilling under the weight of his sudden nerves.

“We can stop any time, just say the word.”

Keith grinned wide, “Like a safeword?”

Shiro laughed. “How about just ‘stop,’ huh?”

Keith nodded and lay back, pressing himself against the soft blankets and getting himself comfy. He looked at Shiro with an earnest expression and opened his legs wide.

Shiro laughed again. He crawled, three-legged, over Keith and lay himself protectively over his body. Keith gulped and shook beneath him.

“Hey,” his tone was soothing and his breath was warm along Keith’s neck as he bent over him. “We’re doing this slow, remember? I’ve got you. Just let me feel you.”

He needed his arm to keep him propped up now, so Shiro felt Keith with mouth alone. He started high and journeyed steadily south. Every pressure point on Keith’s body had a hot lathering from Shiro’s tongue, starting at his ear, down his jaw and throat to his collar and chest. He spent nearly ages at Keith’s nipples, doing things with his tongue that made Keith’s head spin in a violent daze of lust. He lapped at Keith’s stomach, practically counting his abs as he cleaned his path downwards.

“Shiro…” Keith was shivering again, but this time it was from pleasure. 

“I want you to feel it, Keith. Feel how good it is. Feel how good you taste.”

Keith almost self-destructed when Shiro’s hot tongue ran up the length of his hard cock. His body arched against the hot sensation before settling back to writhe against the blankets.

Shiro teased him for a long while, bringing him nowhere near orgasm, but keeping Keith tight and needy before he moved ever lower.

He stopped then, and raised himself up to look at Keith.

“Pillow,” he commanded and Keith rushed to comply. “Up,” he said and Keith lifted his hips as high as he could manage. “Good,” Shiro smiled reassuringly. 

His hand moved to Keith’s thigh and rubbed small circles down, down, and down until Keith was squirming as he inched closer and closer.

“You can stop me any time, remember,” Shiro said. Keith nodded mutely, his concentration locked on Shiro’s wandering fingers rather than his words.

Shiro sighed and settled himself between Keith’s legs. 

“Wider.”

At the first lick, Keith wasn’t sure what he was feeling. It was too fast to properly register. 

The second lick was slower, and it made its presence better known. 

By the third and fourth licks Keith had to keep reminding himself to steady his rocking hips so as not to disturb Shiro. 

Shiro’s tongue was powerful and skilled, and Keith very quickly felt himself coming apart. Shiro had asked him to feel it, and he did. His body was on high alert for pleasure after Shiro’s slow assault, and he welcomed these new, intense sensations happily. 

Shiro licked and sucked Keith until he was soaking and loose enough to try a finger. Tongue and fingers worked together then, and Keith sang their praises in the small back room of their black lion. 

Keith spread gradually. Under Shiro’s careful guidance, he accepted more and more. And as he grew accustomed to each new sensation he felt himself growing addicted to the feeling of being filled.

“Shiro… Shiro please… god, Shiro, please… I need it, I need it please… I need you…” 

Keith whimpered and begged. He fisted the blankets and writhed against them – dizzy with longing. 

Shiro pulled back, the taste of Keith clinging to his tongue. “You’re almost ready Keith.”

“Shiro please..!”

“Patience, Keith, yields focus.” 

Keith screamed, and ungodly horrid sound, and squeezed his legs together over Shiro’s head. Shiro laughed deeply but said nothing more, returning instead to his task of slowly unmaking Keith with his tongue.

When he was finally ready (more than ready, because Shiro had been reasonably over-cautious, considering their lack of certain amenities), Shiro pulled back and raised himself up again. 

“Keith, come here” his tone was low and destructive. 

Keith rose on shaking legs to kneel before Shiro. Shiro had his own dick in his hand now, and he was stroking it in long, languid movements. 

“I need you to suck me and make me wet,” he whispered in Keith’s ear.

Keith practically whimpered at the command, and he nodded dazedly. He knelt down on his hands and knees and sucked Shiro hard. He took him wholly in his mouth, and if Shiro hadn’t tapped his head to remind him not to get carried away he would have cleaned Shiro out right then.

“That’s it, good… nice and wet,” Shiro praised as Keith pulled back from his dripping cock. “Lie down and spread for me.”

Keith felt his mouth go dry from anticipation. He had no more fear for his virgin ass, he trusted Shiro implicitly. 

Shiro covered Keith’s body in his own and Keith’s arms instinctively wrapped around him, holding him tight. He lined Keith’s jaw with kisses, his head buried in the dark recess.

“You’ll have to put me in yourself,” he murmured, and Keith’s eyes rolled back in his head at the sound

He happily obliged, taking Shiro’s hard length in his hand and lining him up with his slick, loosened hole. 

Once he’d made contact, Shiro slid in on his own. He moved incrementally, holding himself up on his shaking arm as he watched Keith’s face for any sign of pain. He whispered praises and adulation down upon his lover as Keith shifted around him, getting used to his girth.

“You’re doing so well, Keith. You feel amazing. You’re better than I ever imagined, you’re so hot and tight and beautiful. Can I go a little more, Keith? Can you take more of me?”

Each time he asked, Keith gasped a rasping “yes!” or sometimes a “please, Shiro!” as he quivered and quaked around his boyfriend’s dick. 

Shiro wanted to hold Keith’s hand, but that wasn’t possible in this position, so he satisfied himself by sprinkling Keith in kisses between his words of praise.

His words echoed off the boxes surrounding them. “Keith… so beautiful so beautiful… you’re so good to me… Keith… Keith.” 

Grey eyes locked down on hazy blue ones with a searing intensity.

“I love you, Keith. I love you so much.”

Keith’s heart swelled. All he could say in return was to echo Shiro’s name across the black lion and out into space, over and over, but Shiro understood.

They moved impossibly slow at first, but when Keith asked for more, Shiro always gave it to him, until there was nothing more to give. 

Shiro pounded into Keith as fast as he dared while the young man writhed beneath him. They panted and pleaded with each other as they danced each other along the precipice of oblivion. 

“Keith,” Shiro commanded sharply as he felt himself teeter dangerously close to his end, “touch yourself.”

Keith groaned and obeyed wholeheartedly. He grabbed himself tight in his hand and stroked himself fast, feeling the tension in his body coiling tighter and tighter around Shiro’s sure thrusts until finally he snapped and released himself onto their stomachs. 

Shiro kept going, his own release tantalizingly close.

He could feel Keith twitching around him, then heard him groan from over-sensitivity. He grit his teeth and forced himself to pull out just before Keith asked him to stop. 

Keith’s hands were waiting for him, and he held Shiro in a tight grip that milked out his own release within a few moments. 

Shiro collapsed onto Keith with an unceremonious grunt. 

He pet Keith’s cheek in lazy, tender strokes as he came down from his bliss. Keith kissed his palm when he came back to himself.

“I do love you,” Keith’s words sounded small after their echoing cries, but they rang more sincere for it. 

Shiro shifted some of his dead weight onto the blankets, still caressing Keith’s cheek like it was something fragile, valuable. 

“I didn’t doubt it. I feel…” Shiro paused, because it was a silly thing to say. They were still breathless, starting to cool, and covered in sweat and spit and everything else, and Keith would call him a hopeless romantic and corny. It was corny. 

Keith turned expectantly to Shiro, and he lost himself in those dark blue eyes for a long time. A long, long time.

“I feel like we’re one person. Like we fit together – like we belong together.”

“Like soulmates?”

Shiro cringed, but Keith’s tone was anything but joking. He was deadly serious, and so was Shiro.

“Maybe.”

“I feel it too.” 

Keith’s lips were sweet against Shiro’s. They breathed together as if they truly did share the same soul, and contemplated a life in each others’ arms.

Eventually they got up and cleaned themselves off. They shifted the blankets around to remake their nest and lay back down together. 

Shiro rested his head softly against Keith’s chest, arm around his waist while Keith’s arms were protective along his back and sides. Keith fell asleep quickly, but Shiro stayed awake feeling the slow rise and fall of his breath and the steady rhythm of his heart. 

He loved Keith more than he felt his heart could contain. And though he didn’t always understand it, he knew that Keith loved him just the same. 

He also knew that he was still fragile, still broken from the experiences of the last few years: the more recent ones especially. And he knew that Keith would be there with him every step of the way. 

But Keith couldn’t take this journey for him, he couldn’t heal him the way he needed. All that was up to Shiro, and up to time. 

It would frighten him – it did frighten him, but it would frighten him more – if Keith were not there by his side. And his friends too. They did help him a great deal, and he likely didn’t give them enough credit. 

No, he was not whole, but he was healing. And maybe someday he would be healed.

Keith rustled in his sleep, one arm falling away from Shiro to land back down in the blankets. He smiled in his sleep and Shiro returned it in kind. He snuggled closer, taking a deep breath of Keith, before falling gently asleep himself.

END.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, technically, that's the end of the plot. 
> 
> There WILL be the bonus chapter which is mostly just a fun and sexy thing i wrote that takes place after the fic is done.
> 
> Thanks as always for making it through the fic with me! 
> 
> If you can believe it, this started out as a funny fic about Shiro getting interrupted every time he tries to confess, but the second I started writing it the angst just poured out of me and here we are! But I hoped you enjoyed loopy Shiro, because he was fun to write. =D
> 
> Also, there is only like 8.5 more hours until the NEW SEASON DROPS!!!! i can't handle this. Because of time change shenanigans I have to wait until AFTER work tomorrow before I can watch anything! T.T Kill me.
> 
> Friendly reminder that I'm on tumblr as WatermelonTuesdays. Though tomorrow I am avoiding tumblr like the plague until I've seen every episode of season 7!


	6. Bonus: Fun and Smut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys decide to take the Black Lion for a bit of a joy ride.

Shiro sat in the pilot’s chair, looking down at the console and controls. 

The black lion was on auto-pilot, staying in formation with the others, headed home. He heard Keith come up behind him, and tilted his head, acknowledging his presence.

“Do you miss flying him?” Keith asked, leaning an arm across the back of Shiro’s chair. 

“Sometimes.” Shiro admitted. “But not too much.”

Keith inspected Shiro from behind, the square of his shoulders and the tight lines of his neck. He touched his fingers at the base of Shiro’s skull, running them over the short-cropped white hair. 

Shiro relaxed against Keith’s touch and hummed quietly. 

The hair felt like puppy fur against Keith’s fingers, and he scratched absently for a long while, lost in his own thoughts. 

Shiro closed his eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying the moment. Keith still smelled faintly of soap from his shower.

Keith rubbed his thumb along the ridge of Shiro’s ear. Shiro turned and gazed up at Keith with a look in his eyes that Keith was starting to recognize. His stomach tightened in anticipation.

“Come here,” Shiro directed, reaching up to take Keith by the hand. He led Keith around to stand in front of the pilot’s chair. It was a tight fit. Keith’s knees pressed against Shiro’s.

“What are you doing?” Keith asked, his voice wavering.

Shiro didn’t answer. Instead he released Keith’s hand and wrapped his arm around his waist, turning Keith and pulling him down so that he sat on Shiro’s lap. 

“Shiro!” 

“Shhh…” Shiro shushed in Keith’s ear, making the younger man freeze. Shiro reached forward, pressing his chest against Keith’s back, and turned on the comm link to the other lions. “Hey guys. We’re going to split off for a bit, give the black lion a bit of a run. Just to let off some steam.”

Lance’s voice was loud over the communicator, “What? Why should you guys get to go clown around?” Keith tensed, he could already hear the argument brewing.

Krolia spoke before Shiro could respond. “We’re all feeling a little cooped up. Have fun, boys.”

“We will.” Shiro shut off the comm link before anyone could say anything more. “Take us over that way, on the other side of that asteroid belt.” His breath was warm on the back of Keith’s neck.

Keith could feel his blush bright on his cheeks, but he fought through it. He took control of the black lion, dipped out of formation, and shot off into open space. 

He was grateful to his mother for stepping in. She seemed to know, or at least to have guessed, what was going on between him and Shiro. Why else had she asked to fly on the blue lion, discussing Altean history with Allura and Coran?

“Come on, we’re supposed to be letting off steam,” Shiro urged as they flew away from their pack. “Show me some of those ace piloting skills.”

“Oh yeah? Watch this.”

The black lion sped away at lightning speeds. Keith took them through flips and turns and barrel rolls, they dodged imaginary obstacles at breakneck speeds on their race to the other side of the asteroid belt.

Shiro laughed as they went through a series of particularly tight twists and rolls. He held on tight to Keith’s waist, as if he had to hold him in the seat for his own safety. 

Keith lit up at Shiro’s laugh; he pushed the lion even faster. 

Shiro whooped as the force of their speed pushed him back against his chair.

Once they were on the other side of the belt, Keith slowed them down. They needed some time to catch their breath from laughing. He moved them along the edge of the belt, where they could see the asteroids gleaming in the light of a nearby sun on one side, and open space on the other.

The other lions were out of sight now, on the other side of the belt. 

It was freeing just to be away from them for a brief moment. It was illogical, Keith knew, because the other paladins couldn’t see into their lion and spy on Keith and Shiro as they got to know each other in a whole new way. But it was nice all the same to have some distance between them.  
Shiro was thinking along the same lines.

Shiro shifted his legs beneath Keith, and Keith jumped up into a half-sit above Shiro.

“Am I too heavy?”

“Not at all.” Shiro pulled Keith back down against him. This time he kept his hold around Keith’s body tight, and raised himself so that his chest pressed along Keith’s back.

Shiro nuzzled his face into Keith’s hair, his nose and cheek pressing against the side of Keith’s neck.

“Shiro?”

“Keep flying.” Shiro’s voice was low and quiet in Keith’s ear. It made Keith shudder against him.

Keith did his best to concentrate on piloting the lion, but all the while he was distracted by the feel of Shiro’s skin sliding against his own, and the heat of his body against his back. 

Shiro nuzzled closer and nipped lightly at Keith’s neck. 

“I miss you,” he whispered, then licked the rim of Keith’s ear.

Keith sighed. “I’m right here.” His voice was strained from trying to keep them on a straight path. 

“No,” Shiro said, his hand squeezed Keith’s side. “I miss you.”

Keith’s breath caught in his throat.

Shiro shifted beneath him again. His legs lifted and shifted against Keith’s backside, rolling his hips as he settled his position.

Keith’s temperature skyrocketed, and he gripped the controls, inadvertently veering the lion to the left before he straightened out the trajectory. 

“Sh-Shiro…” he said, unsure. 

Shiro licked at the soft spot just behind Keith’s ear in response. His hand moved along Keith’s body, leaving a warm trail up his stomach to his chest. 

They had taken to wearing civilian clothes in the lions these days, since they were doing more travelling than fighting lately, and since they were already uncomfortable enough   
living in these small spaces without adding the weight and stiffness of armour. 

Shiro’s hand pressed against Keith’s chest in a powerful hug, then raised higher to pull at the collar of Keith’s shirt, giving Shiro’s mouth and tongue more skin to work with.

“Shiro…” Keith said again. It was said under his breath, like a mantra or a prayer. 

The heat between them was unbelievable. Keith shifted his stance against Shiro and felt Shiro’s responding gasp against his neck. He could feel Shiro’s growing need start to press against him, and he moved back, against it. 

“Ugh… Keith…” Shiro bit Keith’s shoulder through his shirt. His hand dropped to Keith’s lap and began to fumble with the clasp of his pants. “Take these off,” he directed. 

Keith hurried to set the lion’s navigation system and put it on auto-pilot. Then he stood and shimmied out of his pants.

“What a view,” Shiro said with a grin, distracted from unbuckling his own pants by the sight of Keith’s bouncing. 

He grabbed a handful of Keith’s butt and squeezed it in the palm of his hand.

Keith swatted at him and turned to look over his shoulder to check if Shiro’s pants were gone as well. 

“Hurry up, the air is cold.”

Shiro unbuckled his pants and pulled them low enough to be out of the way before scooping Keith up in his arm and pulling him back down against his chest. 

“Here. I’ll be gentle,” Shiro promised, pressing two fingers to Keith’s lips.

Keith opened his mouth and sucked them obediently. His tongue lathered Shiro’s fingers, and he sucked them hard enough to make Shiro groan and press against him. 

“Come on, Keith.” Shiro’s voice was strained and wheedling. Keith thoroughly enjoyed the tone, but he wanted Shiro inside him more than he wanted to hear the man’s desperation.

He wet Shiro’s fingers with his spit and opened his legs, pushing himself back against Shiro’s hard dick in the process. 

Shiro reached down and began to tease Keith’s opening. He circled and rubbed it dextrously, making Keith squirm against him. 

Slowly, he eased his finger in and began the process of spreading Keith. It was not as hard as their first time, but it was still by no means accommodating. 

Keith leaned back and lay his head on Shiro’s shoulder, his eyes closed, and his fists gripping the arm rests of the pilot’s chair. Shiro nuzzled Keith some more, kissing his cheek tenderly, his eyes analyzing Keith’s expression hungrily. 

Keith turned to Shiro and they kissed sloppily. Both their necks were craned and twisted to reach each other, but that didn’t stop them. 

Their need was reaching dangerous levels. Each pump of his fingers inside Keith brought the younger man firmly against Shiro, who used his powerful hips to his own advantage.

“I want you in me,” Keith sighed against Shiro’s lips. Then he turned himself further to whisper in Shiro’s ear, “I really love the feeling of kissing you while you’re inside me.”

Keith immediately felt embarrassed at his own words, and if he were not already incredibly flushed he would be beet red from embarrassment. But his words spurred Shiro forward, pumping faster into Keith, testing his elasticity. 

“It would be my pleasure to oblige,” Shiro said unironically, as only Shiro can. 

He removed his fingers and raised his hand to spit in his palm.

“We’re really going to have to find some kind of lube substitute soon,” he said worriedly.

“We should be able to pick up some narltrax slime at our next supply stop. Most tradeposts have some.” Keith said, as if it were common knowledge.

“How do you know that?” Shiro nudged Keith up so he could wet his own cock. He pumped himself a few times for good measure, and pressed his face against Keith’s shirt. It smelled of his and Keith’s sweat now, not soap.

Keith shrugged at Shiro’s question. “There are a lot of men in the Blade of Marmora. They talk sometimes.”

“I’m proud of you for doing your research,” Shiro guided Keith back down slowly and pressed himself into Keith as gently as he could manage. 

Keith sighed as he slid around Shiro and pressed back against his chest for a moment before he began to move himself slowly up and down.

Shiro did his best to help, with his one hand on Keith’s hips, guiding him along his length. 

Neither of them were able to speak now, except to mumble each other’s names – and even that, they did without any conscious knowledge of it happening. 

Eventually, Keith began to pick up speed. Shiro released his hip to travel his body, his hand slipping under Keith’s shirt to feel his chest and press lightly against his nipples. 

“It’s not fair…” Keith said through gritted teeth.

“What’s not?” Shiro lined Keith’s shoulders and neck in short kisses.

“I can’t hold you like this.” 

Shiro’s heart was overwhelmed with emotion, but his response was dictated by his lusts. He reached quickly down to touch the sensitive skin around Keith’s butthole, “you’re holding me here.”

Keith’s laugh was strangled by a moan from Shiro’s caress, and a strange barking noise came out of his mouth instead. 

Shiro grinned and rubbed him more. 

Keith sped up his pace again, feeling the pressure inside him building deliciously. 

They were suddenly jolted to the side, bringing Keith down hard around Shiro, and making them both cry out in pleasure and surprise.

Keith looked up just in time to see them scrape against another asteroid. The two men were jolted again, but Shiro’s strong arm wrapped around Keith, keeping them together.

“We’re in the asteroid belt!” Keith cried in alarm. The lion had navigated directly into the middle of the belt while they weren’t paying attention, and they were entering the densest section.

He leaned forward and quickly took the lion out of auto-pilot. He veered them quickly left to avoid the next asteroid, then dodged down to avoid the next. 

“Right.” Shiro called.

“I see it.” Keith maneuvered the lion around the next asteroid.

It was not done as deftly as he might normally have. It was hard to think when all of his blood had gone south.

Shiro was still inside him, but Keith didn’t really have time to worry about that. They were surrounded by asteroids on all sides, and the sheer amount of them was cluttering their guidance systems enough that there was no clear path out. The only thing they could do it keep going and try and find an exit. 

They dodged left, right, and under through the field, and every sharp turn, or glancing blow off an asteroid, rocked Shiro inside of Keith. 

After a few moments, they were free of the worst of it, and Keith slowed their lion down to make navigation easier.

Shiro’s hand dropped from Keith’s waist to touch lightly against his inner thigh.

“Uh… Shiro?” Keith asked nervously.

“Keep flying.” Shiro’s voice thick. 

“Uhh…”

His hand rose up along Keith’s thigh to grasp Keith’s hard manhood in a tight, hot grip. Shiro kissed and nibbled at Keith’s neck. 

Then Shiro moved his powerful legs and pressed himself deeper into Keith.

“Shiro!”

“You can do it. We’ll take it slow.”

Keith wasn’t sure is Shiro meant the flying or the sex, but both seemed like a good idea. 

Really, Keith knew they shouldn’t be doing this. And Shiro of all people shouldn’t be risking them and the lion like this.

As if he read Keith’s thoughts, Shiro said “I trust you. You’ll get us out of here.” Shiro’s hand moved tight and slow along Keith’s dick as if reinforcing his statement.

Keith sighed and leaned forward, angling his hips so that Shiro had room to move. He flew the black lion in a slow and intricate dance through the asteroids while Shiro brought him closer and closer to the edge of oblivion. 

All the while, Shiro lost himself entirely to the body of the young man before him. He pressed his face against Keith’s back and breathed deep in the scent of his sweat. He filled his hand with Keith’s hard need and felt the smooth skin graze the palm of his hand. He pressed himself firmly but slowly into Keith’s most secret crevice and poured himself into his lover. 

“Ugh! … Shiro!” 

Keith couldn’t take it any longer. He parked the lion quickly on one of the large asteroids and released the controls.

“Shiro, fuck me.” Keith begged. 

Shiro complied, with a hungry growl. 

He released Keith’s dick to grab him by the leg and lift it over the arm rest of the chair, turning Keith on his lap so that Keith could twist around and throw his arms around Shiro’s neck. They kissed passionately.

With Shiro’s one hand lifting Keith’s leg and holding him steady, he began to drive himself into Keith with wild abandon. 

Keith moaned, and then cried. He turned his head and bit down hard on Shiro’s collarbone. 

“Touch yourself,” Shiro commanded through clenched teeth. His eyes were shut tight, his whole body was taught. 

Keith complied, pulling on himself to match Shiro’s pace. He cried against Shiro’s shoulders. 

Then, with his arm that was still wrapped around Shiro’s neck, he pushed Shiro’s face against his own in a deep and passionate kiss. 

He truly loved kissing Shiro while he was inside him. 

“Keith… I’m gonna…” Shiro warned.

But Keith was already there. 

Keith came with a strangled cry into his own hand. Shiro joined him a moment later, buried deep within the younger man. 

They clung to each other for a long moment afterwards, catching their breath. 

Keith pressed his forehead against Shiro’s and the two grinned at each other. 

“That was… intense.” Keith said, basking in his personal afterglow.

“Yeah. Sorry…” Shiro blushed, suddenly embarrassed by his behaviour.

“Don’t be sorry.” Keith looked him in the eyes. “Your trust is as much of a turn on as flying the lion with you inside me.”

“Yeah. I – uh… I’ve always wanted to do that.” Shiro’s blush deepened. “I thought it would have to be the red lion, but I’m glad it was the black one.” 

“Interesting. What else did you want to do to me?” Keith slid his hand along Shiro’s neck to grasp his head, his fingers reaching into the soft short hairs at the back of Shiro’s neck. 

“That might be best left for another time.” Shiro said, practically. “We should head back soon.”

“First I need another shower.” 

Keith disentangled himself from Shiro’s lap and moved towards the door.

“Did you want to join me?”

Shiro was up and at his side in a moment. 

“I can wash your back.” Shiro offered with a goofy grin. Keith laughed and pressed his shoulder against Shiro’s.

They walked past the cosmic wolf where he lay remarkably still asleep considering the bumpy ride they had just taken. 

“Are we both going to fit in there?” Keith asked dubiously, looking at the tiny shower in the equally tiny bathroom. 

“We may have to get creative.” Shiro grinned down at his boyfriend and peeled his sweaty shirt from his large, muscular chest. 

Keith pulled his own shirt off with lightning speed and pushed Shiro intently towards the showers with an excited laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this everyone, and thanks SO MUCH for all your comments and kudos! It makes me really want to keep writing and posting.
> 
> I'm posting this before I sit down to watch season 7, so wish me luck!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I don't post much, but I'm WatermelonTuesdays on Tumblr, and you can find me there.
> 
> Second chapter will be up sometime tomorrow!


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